On March 31, 1981 Colorado’s John Hinckley walked up to President Reagan and tried to shoot him at point blank range. I remember that time very well for several reasons. My sister was Jodie Foster’s suitemate at Yale. The experience was devastating for Jodie Foster and largely ruined her college experience.
The following week I took a canoe trip down the Green River in Utah with a friend from Santa Fe and a couple of her Mormon friends from Utah. Her friends were named John and Bern Hinckley. John was having a lot of trouble using his credit cards that week.
I was in the front of the canoe wearing shorts and a t-shirt when a storm blew in. Cold waves were coming over the bow and I got cold very quickly, but we were unable to get to shore because of thick Salt Cedar growth along the banks. Salt Cedar was brought in from the Middle East for erosion control, and quickly became a complete mess.
Eventually we found a sand bar and were able to make a fire. By that time I had hypothermia and the Mormons tried to cheer me up by singing hymns like “Coffee and tea have we none.” Mormons aren’t supposed to drink hot drinks.
