Have you ever felt like you are pushing a peanut up a mountain?
Bill Williams knows how you feel. In 1929, he pushed a peanut up the 14,000 feet of Colorado’s Pike’s Peak Highway… with his nose. Why? For a bet, of course. It took him 22 days, a bag full of peanuts, knee pads, and a lot of perseverance. With the help of the media, he became a national celebrity… and an inspiration.
In 1963, 21-year old rock-and-roll musician, Ulysses Baxter got on his hands and knees with a wooden spoon attached to his nose. He too pushed a peanut up the mountain, but in a record-breaking eight days. Speaking of records, his music was also launched into the national spotlight.
Well, the peanut pushing does not stop there.
On Friday, July 15, 2022, Bob Salem broke the record with a facemask and spoon contraption and nearly two dozen peanuts. People said he was “nuts” when they saw him practicing and training for the big day, but he completed this arduous task and 12.6 miles in seven days. “I did most of the push at night,” he would tell you. “When I did it in the daylight… I’d have stop every 10 minutes… take some pictures, talk to people… it kind of dragged on the trip a little.”
Perhaps the peanut pushers take their inspiration from Sisyphus, the ancient Greek that cheated death twice. His eternal punishment was to push a boulder up a mountain. Whenever he neared the top the boulder would magically roll back down. Sisyphus was cursed to begin the never-ending task again and again.
Have you ever felt like you are pushing a peanut up a mountain with your nose?
Remember, it’s just a peanut, not a boulder. Stop and enjoy the scenery. The mountains can be beautiful.
REFERENCES
- Bob Salem: https://www.cpr.org/2022/07/15/colorado-springs-man-completes-pikes-peak-peanut-push/
- Ulysses Baxter: https://www.cpr.org/podcast-episode/meet-the-man-who-pushed-a-peanut-up-pikes-peak-with-his-nose/
- Bill Williams: https://www.travelchannel.com/videos/pikes-peak-peanut-pusher-0235616
- Bob Salem: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/man-pushes-peanut-up-mountain-colorado_n_62d246d6e4b0e6fc1a972de3