FRIENDS Hosts Tim Pegram at Book Signing

FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc. P.O. Box 341 Arden, NC 28704 P.O. Box 20986 Roanoke, Va. 24018 800-228-7275 (toll-free) 540-772-2992 (fax) staff@friendsbrp.org FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway is a non-profit, volunteer organization that is dedicated to preserving, promoting and enhancing the Blue Ridge Parkway, a national treasure. FRIENDS programs focus on preservation, protection and education. FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia, whose current principal business address for identification purposes is P.O. Box 20986, Roanoke, Virginia 24018.	FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc. A National Park Service Blue Ridge Parkway approved partner organization dedicated to preserve, promote and enhance the Blue Ridge Parkway, a national treasure, for future generations.
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	FRIENDS Hosts Tim Pegram at Book Signing The Blue Ridge Parkway On Foot: A Park Ranger’s Memoir June 11, 2008 A Commentary by Susan Roquemore, Rocky Knob Chapter Correspondent Edna Ferber once wrote something like: “The difference between a writer and a non-writer is that a writer writes.” The same can be said for a hiker. A hiker hikes. When you combine the passions of both you have a formidable personality and author: his name is Tim Pegram. Harness those energies with the background and knowledge of a career Forest Ranger and you have better than a writer or a hiker: you have a Storyteller. Mr. Pegram came to Floyd as the guest of the Floyd Friends of the Library to talk about his book: The Blue Ridge Parkway By Foot, A Park Ranger’s Memoir published by McFarland and Company, Jefferson, N.C., 2007. Tim (as the audience quickly got to know him) talked about perhaps everything but the book itself. He opened up his life to the audience as he explained how a middle school teacher gave him confidence to write. He laughed away the bittersweet knowledge that he was never, ever going to be a ranger at Hanging Rock Park in North Carolina—his college dream. There were allusions to his wife’s despair at yet another snowbound winter as he earned his stripes as a ranger. Always there was the ever- present hovering Blue Ridge that was not only his livelihood but a love. The time came to tell his story, and to do this he took a 41 day walk (September 1- October 11, 2003). He strapped on a pack and started walking. Oh, he knew the Parkway (the BRP) with the Ranger’s eye. But did he ever see it? Who else has walked the entire length 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway? Officially, it starts where the Great Smoky Mountains ends and runs to Front Royal Virginia environs at the beginning of the Shenandoah National Park. The Parkway itself has a colorful history. The truth is, probably no one has walked its length before Tim--. His is not the longest, toughest hike in the world but Tim’s experiences mirror those of other veteran hikers: a renewed faith in mankind; greater appreciation for the small, common courtesies –Who but a hiker could remember the make of an automobile whose drivers never, ever waved? (it is a Buick!) This book isn’t just about a hike. It is a tribute to the beauty and, unique quality of this velvet ribbon of pavement –this thing we call The Blue Ridge Parkway. We who love that ribbon—thank Mr. Tim Pegram for his walk and his book. Keep your boots dry, Tim. Susan Roquemore (aka The Dragon Lady) has hiked the Appalachian Trail in its entirety twice.
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