| Career changes always require a painful
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| | highest hill in that area. I stopped for
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| transition period. A few years back I
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| | a rest, and to take in the beautiful
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| lost my job as a stage manager for live
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| | three hundred and sixty degree view all
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| television shows, and I was feeling the
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| | around me. I had mountains in front of
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| heat. As I sat in my tiny little
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| | me, hills all around me and the San
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| apartment staring at a huge pile of
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| | Fernando Valley off in the distance
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| overdue bills, I could feel the pain
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| | behind me. I watched the sunset over the
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| coursing through my soul. I suddenly had
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| | mountains and meditated for a moment at
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| the uncontrollable urge to just run.
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| | my favorite spot on earth. When I turned
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| I am an avid runner who loves running in
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| | around I could see the lights of The
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| the wilderness. The feeling of breaking a
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| | Valley glistening like a million fire
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| sweat with a good stride in the great
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| | flies. I was about five miles away from
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| outdoors is like no other for me. Your
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| | the nearest civilization, but it felt
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| heart is pumping blood through your body
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| | like it was five hundred.
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| like a turbo-charger, your lungs are
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| | A half hour later I started my run back
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| sucking in precious oxygen as fast as you
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| | towards civilization. It was now dark,
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| can breathe it in, your pores are
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| | but I was not worried about getting lost,
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| excreting sweat and toxins like crazy,
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| | for I knew those trails like the back of
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| and all of your senses are at their peak
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| | my hand. Rattlesnakes were all
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| of performance. You can feel the world
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| | hibernating, coyotes aren't much to worry
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| around you and you know you are part of
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| | about, but mountain lions were a
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| it. It is a wonderful feeling; a healthy
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| | different story. Although attacks on
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| addiction if you will. My drug of choice
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| | humans were rare, there had been a couple
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| is endorphins.
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| | of people killed in California in recent
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| I hurried down the stairs to the parking
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| | years. I did not want to be the next rare
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| garage. The woman who lived below me was
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| | event, so I made sure to announce my
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| just getting out of her car when I
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| | presence by singing loudly (and slightly
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| entered the garage. She was a
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| | off-key).
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| cigarette-totin' Maggie with ashen-grey
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| | Suddenly, I saw a shadowy figure of a
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| skin and a raspy voice that sounded like
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| | person up ahead on the trail in front of
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| it was the product of damaged vocal cords
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| | me. I was not used to seeing other people
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| due to years of yelling too loud at
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| | that far back in the hills. I approached
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| parties and breathing tobacco smoke
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| | with caution. As I got closer and closer
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| relentlessly. She was tall, rotund and
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| | to this dark silhouette, I noticed that
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| barrel-chested, with bleached white hair
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| | this person was just standing still at a
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| that she wore way too long for her age,
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| | fork in the dirt road. When I was about
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| which I guessed was somewhere around
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| | to pass this person I noticed that it was
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| forty. She wore black clothing everyday
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| | a young teenage guy. He was wearing brown
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| that made her look like an albino witch.
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| | nylon shorts and a yellow tee-shirt that
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| She was also a single mother of a teenage
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| | said Calabasas Cross Country Team on the
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| daughter that was seemingly out of
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| | front. He looked very worried, and seemed
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| control. I often saw this daughter coming
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| | to be lost.
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| home at four in the morning as I was just
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| | The thin young man politely asked me if I
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| leaving for work. She was only thirteen,
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| | knew which one of the trails he was
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| but she seemed to be in a big hurry to
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| | standing in front of was the one out of
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| become an adult. Her mother didn't seem
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| | there. He explained that he was training
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| to care about her too much.
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| | for an up coming cross-country
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| I drove to a nearby street and parked my
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| | competition and did not realize how far
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| car next to a couple of other cars at the
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| | he had run, or how quickly it got dark
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| entrance to a fire trail. I stretched for
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| | "now that daylight savings was over". I
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| about five minutes, and then I was on my
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| | told him that I knew that area quite
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| way up my favorite wilderness trail that
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| | well, and that he could follow me out of
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| led into the foothills of the Santa
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| | there.
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| Monica Mountains (California).
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| | I made a right turn at the fork in the
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| I grew up playing and exercising in those
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| | road, and the kid followed behind me. As
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| hills. It is my favorite place to go when
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| | we were running down the switchback
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| I need to get away from it all. There are
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| | trails it started to rain again. We ran
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| fire trails everywhere that accommodate
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| | out into a large valley with tall grass,
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| anyone who is looking for exercise in a
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| | and then the kid began to fall behind a
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| wilderness area that includes rolling
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| | bit. I slowed my pace down a little until
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| hills, bush-covered chaparral, and
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| | I could see him again slowly running
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| majestic mountains.
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| | behind me on the trail.
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| About a mile into my run I began to work
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| | As we were passing through the rocky area
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| up a sweat. A group of dark clouds passed
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| | with all the caves we suddenly came upon
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| overhead and it started to rain. It was
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| | the group of kids that were partying
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| winter. I was only wearing a tee-shirt
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| | earlier. They were slowly walking on the
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| and shorts, and the rain was cold, but it
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| | trail and passing around a bottle of
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| felt good. The rain drops splashed over
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| | whiskey. A young girl noticed us
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| my face and body like a fire sprinkler
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| | approaching and broke off from the group
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| from heaven that was released right on
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| | with the whiskey bottle in her hand. As
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| cue.
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| | we were passing by the girl she held the
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| The sun burst through the clouds and I
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| | whiskey bottle out towards us and with a
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| was soon bathed in warm sunlight again.
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| | sarcastic and drunken voice she said "you
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| I entered a rocky area filled with caves
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| | guys must be thirsty"! A full moon was
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| that were formed by millions of years of
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| | now shining down on the area and it
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| wind and water erosion. The Chumash
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| | illuminated me to the fact that this girl
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| Indians once lived in those caves before
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| | was the thirteen year old daughter of the
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| the Europeans came. I looked up to the
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| | albino witch lady that lived in the
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| right and saw a group of teenagers
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| | apartment below me. She was too drunk to
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| hanging out in a big cave that was about
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| | recognize me. We then jogged past the
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| fifty feet up on the face of a cliff. One
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| | chuckling group of inebriated teenagers
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| of them noticed me running down below and
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| | and continued on with our run through the
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| threw an empty beer bottle in my
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| | wilderness.
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| direction. The bottle hit a rock about
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| | We finally reached the end of the trail
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| twenty feet away from me and exploded
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| | and we both stopped running. While trying
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| into a million pieces. This explosion was
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| | to catch his breath, the kid thanked me
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| immediately followed by an eruption of
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| | for giving him directions. He then
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| laughter from the group. I was thinking
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| | disappeared into the neighborhood. I
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| about stopping to say something, but I
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| | walked over to my car and stood next to
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| did not want to ruin my good mood.
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| | it for a moment. I thought to myself; I
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| I made a couple of left and right turns
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| | may not have much money, but I have my
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| on trails that I originally explored when
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| | health. I am thankful for having parents
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| I was about eight years old. I ran deeper
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| | who cared, and that I chose to run on the
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| into the hills. Soon I was running up a
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| | right path in life.
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| series of steep switchbacks trails.
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| | Copyright 2006. Michael P.
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| I eventually arrived at the top of the
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|
