Kodiak and his grandfather, Paul
Sometimes things just happen. I did not really have to attempt crossing that river via the fallen log, but I did, and unsuccessfully. But why?
This event occurred back in May, 2013 at a family outing at Alice Lake, near Squamish, British Columbia. This lake is just on the other side of snow-capped Mt. Garibaldi, from where my son lives and runs his business. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day - my partner Jeanne and I had just walked around the lake when we encountered a river with a log over it linking one shore to the other. Spurred on by a comment from Jeanne, "No way, I'm taking the bridge." Therefore, I stepped on.
Trees grow taller out here and I was about two thirds of the way across when I lost my balance and toppled in. The loud splash brought a softball game going on in the field of the intended shore just ahead of me to an abrupt halt. Both teams rushed over to investigate the disruption and the first thing of note, once I reached the shore, was the coach asking me if I was alright and "Did I have a cellphone?"
My first thought was why does he want a cellphone and who on earth is he going to call? Then I realized that it was his concern as to water damage to the device that triggered his question. His advice was not to use it for a few hours and allow it time to dry out. The game resumed, everything did dry out, worked fine and my ego gradually recovered. A good pat on the back for Apple's amazing technology, I guess.
So why the crossing attempt? It was not a necessary thing to do. Well, it could have been that years ago, I would have been more likely to have made it. It would have been a sense of accomplishment if I had made it. Maybe it was simply being inspired by my almost three-year old grandson, Kodiak.
In a way, perhaps, it was to see myself back in earlier life as more of an adventurer and risk taker. It makes me think of my running with the bulls in Pamplona, but that was way back, far scarier and another story for another day.
In a way, perhaps, it was to see myself back in earlier life as more of an adventurer and risk taker. It makes me think of my running with the bulls in Pamplona, but that was way back, far scarier and another story for another day.
As Walt Disney once said: "It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
