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From Christopher Johnson, Quality Assurance Manager:

Dear Randy,

I am way, way too busy do to the latest "Letter from Tripod".

Tripod is offering a bunch of new services to our members (CDNow, Celebrity Page Builder) and great new articles that I'm testing on my new computer. As if that isn't enough I've been hammering out a content deal with Evel Knievel. I'm just catching up now, I had to go to New York to a business development thing with Evel and some of his people. It went something like this:

Reines and I got to New York at about 6:00 PM. We were booked at the swank Chinatown Holiday Inn, where, after some hassling, we received free toiletries. No problem. When meeting with Mr. Knievel, hygeine is always smart.

After deciding to forego dinner, we arrived at the meeting, dressed to the nines. What was initally termed a "business development dinner party" had escalated to become what the kids like to call a "rave." Again, no problem.

After an hour of basic mingling, the evening's festive atmosphere reached a new transmetaphoric level. The throbbing drum and bass provided by the DJ had created cross-cultural references to a different space and time, where language was colors and electronic beeps. The crowd was a sea of arms and legs, swaying to a grand symphony that was the sound of the city... Evel rode up on stage on his Harley, and nobody was surprised. In fact, it made sense.

He spoke to a crowd of 400 hip, club-going youngsters, and they hailed him as the returning king: the true last of the gladiators. It was surreal, beautiful, and frightenting in the same instant.

He approached me after his speech. We discussed the business deal briefly, and the crowd started to surround its new king. Evel's a thrill-seeker, but 400 celebrity-hungry rave-goers reaching at you was one jump he wasn't up to.

That's how it all began, and it continues. We got the Evel question submit form posted, the design by Jay. I have spoken to Evel, with Reines, within the past hour. We had a couple of laughs, a few quiet/heavy moments, thinking back to a time before there was a World Wide Web, browsers or raves...when a man and his motorcycle could change the world. It was an amazing conversation.

Again, I am way too busy to write you a letter.

Happy Landings,
Chris Johnson,
Quality Assurance Manager (5/15/98)