Getting Away From It All

What does a man who has run for mayor and invested $130,000 of his own money in the unsuccessful effort do to get away from it all? Garry Weber heads for the Yukon.

When Weber takes a vacation, his choice is never Acapulco or Las Vegas. It is Colorado, Africa, and lately, British Columbia and the Yukon. Weber got the idea for this trip from a book published by Abercombie & Fitch, then called a guide service in Watson Lake in the Yukon, and arranged to spend two weeks in the mountains outside this town of 700 people.

“I just wanted to be with a guide, not on a group tour. I wanted to be off by myself. It kind of cleans your mind out and gives you a fresh approach.”

Accompanied by a guide and a wrangler to retrieve the horses left to range every night, Weber spent the next 14 days traveling 200 miles on horseback. The only creatures he saw were rabbits, otters, m untain goats, sheep, and one unfortunate caribou that became the trio’s lunch and dinner for most of the trip. He never saw a newspaper, television, or radio. He didn’t learn about Mao Tse-tung’s death until he returned to Dallas.

Weber climbed mountains, fished, slept under the stars and often on a blanket of snow, grew a beard and a mustache, and lost ten pounds.

In his spare time, he read five books. Among them were Carter’s Why Not the Best?, Truman’s memoirs, and Winning by Intimidation. Whether it was the influence of Carter, Truman, intimidation, or simply the mountain air, Weber reconfirmed his desire to remain active in business and politics while he was camping out in the mountains. He recalled, “You tend to put things behind you and look forward to the future when you’re out there. You realize how lucky you are – in my case to have two careers, one in business and one in public life.” That kind of talk should make his political supporters happy, especially since stickers with the slogan “We still want Weber for Mayor” are beginning to appear on bumpers around Dallas.

“I enjoyed the trip but I was ready to get back to working again,” Weber said. Evidently the trip was reassuring in other ways. If the stock market ever crashes and ruins his brokerage business or the mayor’s job goes to yet another man, Weber won’t have to stand in unemployment lines. A trucking firm in Watson Lake offered him a job.