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Expert mountain biking, professional kayak tours, and
knowledge of the Keweenaw: three of the many things on which
the Keweenaw Adventure Company prides itself, and three traits
Kevin Hodur completely lacks. Why, then, did KAC make the
decision to hire this crash-prone, can’t-swim tourist? We sat
down with Kevin recently to find out.
?: You’ve been around the company for a bit now, filling in
here and there… why do you suppose they picked you to be an
employee?
Kevin: I figure it’s because I’m good at distracting
people. I can talk pretty endlessly about nothing in
particular as my family and friends can attest. Heck, my
undergraduate degree is in Communication and my Masters is in
Literature… if I haven’t learn how to ramble about
insignificant points by now, I don’t know what else I can do.
The plus for that is that I can make people run screaming from
the shop, where Sam and Aaron can be outside, all set to take
people out on tours. It’s a great money maker.
?: Do you have any special talents you bring to the KAC?
Anything at all?
Kevin: Well, I once thought of myself as a good name
dropper, but since the only famous person I’ve ever been
around is Kanye West – I went high school with him – I had to
drop that pretty quickly. I’d like to think I’m a pretty good
writer, too, but I have been disabused of that hope by years
of education. My best talent here is probably my unfailing
ability to hit the "play" button on the CD player whenever it
needs to be done.
?: What do you think of the job so far? Is it
difficult?
Kevin: I’m on the clock at the moment, if that tells you
anything. The 5 foot commute to work is a bit rough as well
but I’m managing.
?: And your coworkers?
Kevin: They’re okay, I guess. Ryan killed me at a game of
War the other day, the fastest round of that blasted card game
I’ve ever seen. Maybe we’ll speak again. Rachel can both swim
and talk to people, so I’m guessing that’s the last I’ll see
of her. She’ll be doing real work. There’s allegedly a Libby
who works here but I can’t prove that. And Brian needs to stop
eating my $@(%ing Cap’n Crunch already.
I’m very possessive of my breakfast cereal.
?: Anything else we should know about you?
Kevin: I’ve stopped teaching at the college level for the
moment due to lack of interest: on my part and theirs. Higher
education just paid too much, what with the four figure
incomes and all. So I’m continuing my education again at
Michigan Technological University. I figure if they have to
call me "Doctor" at the drive-thru, well, that’s respect you
just can’t buy. Even if I do have to get them their fries. I’m
fortunate enough to be married to the most wonderful woman in
the world, who let’s me go off and do things like this while
she has a real job, scoops the litter box, and otherwise leads
a normal life. I grew up in Illinois, though I’ve also lived
in Oregon, Indiana and presently Michigan. I mountain bike,
rock climb, and kayak, all poorly. I used to play soccer,
tennis and baseball. I miss broadcasting… if you ask nicely,
I’ll do my radio announcer voice. I like pizza. Bright colours
are nice.
?: Well Kevin, thank you for your time. It seems we’re no
closer to solving the mystery of your employment.
Kevin: Yeah, you’ve got me on that one.
?: We’ll keep at it. If you have any ideas, please send
them to the usual address and our crack investigative
reporting team will get right on it. Kevin, good luck not
drowning this summer, and keep rocking the "play" button on
that CD player.
Kevin: Oh crud… I knew it was too quiet in here…
?: Er, right. Until next time, keep paddlin’. Or pedalin’.
Or something you love.
Kevin Hodur is actually a fairly decent bike mechanic and
can answer most of your questions, working in the shop while
the rest of the staff gets out there and does what they do
best. He is pursuing a doctorate in Rhetoric and Technical
Communication at Michigan Technological University. If he had
regular internet access, you could read some of his thoughts
at http://alteredtransport.blogspot.com … but
he’s pretty bad at keeping up with stuff like that.
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