fall 11 / 24:3 - Grand Canyon River Guides

* * *Steiger: Well, you got a master plan nowwhere your guiding’s concerned?Sadler: (laughs) Oh, God, the question.Obviously, I still absolutely love what I do,and I would love to continue to do a fewtrips a year—not a few in Grand Canyon,maybe one or two in Grand Canyon, andthen one or two somewhere else. What I’mfinding as I am at this point in my guidingcareer is that I want to give back a little bitmore than I think I’ve been doing. And Iknow that as a guide you’re giving to people,you’re providing a service, but I think thatI’m finding…I’ve been incredibly lucky tolive my life exactly the way I’ve wanted to,up until this point. And there are a lot ofpeople who haven’t had those opportunitiesin their lives—whether it’s little kidsor people in other countries. I think that I want to goand try and find a way to use some of the skills thatI’ve learned here—whether it’s organizational skills orteaching skills or whatever—and do that. So I’m lookingat some different opportunities.I want to keep writing, because I love writing, butyou can’t make a living writing—unless you’re StephenKing or somebody like that.* * *I remember one of my favorite things to say as a kid tomy dad was, “It’s not fair!” You know, my dad would alwayssay, “Well life ain’t fair, kid.” But that little refrain,“It’s not fair,” has been with me ever since I was a kid,and I just see these things happening that aren’t fair,and I want to try and help. So that’s kind of what I’m[also] doin’ these days…I really started working pretty…well, sincerely, forlack of a better word…with a group that does humanitarianaid on the border with Mexico—the Arizona-Mexico border. The group is called No More Deaths.“No mas muertes.” What we do is try and offer directhumanitarian aid—water, food, medical help—topeople crossing the desert, coming up into this country,who are in danger of dying because they’ve beenpushed into the most inhospitable parts of the desertby our government’s policies and by the wall that we’rebuilding. Between that and going to—we run an aidstation in Nogales, and we help manage a clinic thereto give medical help to people who’ve been deported,either as migrants crossing the desert, or they’ve beenpicked up in this country, in raids, after living here forten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years. They’ve been pickedup in raids and then sent back to this place that isn’teven home for them anymore. So we go there, andwork with them, and do everything from medical helpto helping them get their belongings back that havebeen taken away by Border Patrol. In Mexico, we have aphone they can use to call family members to let themknow they’re okay. Things like that. And to me, thatis one of the most important things that I do. It’s notright what’s happening out there, and people shouldnot have to die to take care of their families. And that’swhat—99 percent of the people we run into are justreally simple, basic, genuine folk, country people, andthey’re trying to take care of their families.You know, the causes for all this are huge, andwe try and address some of that. We do a little bit ofpolitical activism, but the biggest thing the group doesis just direct humanitarian aid, and I feel real stronglyabout that. It’s kind of weird to say it brings me joy todo this, because it’s the saddest thing, I think, that I’veever had to do, but I can’t imagine not doing it. Someof the people I’ve met are the kindest, most genuine,gracious people. I would have any one of them as aneighbor, happily. They’ve gotten the short end of thestick their whole life—started out poor, and it’s onlygetting worse. And that’s some things our governmenthas done, some things their government has done. Sothat’s one of the things that I’ve been doing lately…I think our logic behind this is no matter what youthink about somebody doing this illegally, or how theyshould do it, or what our government should be doingabout immigration, nobody should have to suffer anddie to take care of their families. The reason they’reboatman’s quarterly review page 37