The image above was posted onto my Facebook page and a conversation ensued as a result, about helmet usage in water Photography and Cinematography. My esteemed friend and colleague, Steve Fitzpatrick weighed in. Steve had his noggin crushed in a PWC accident by an untrained operator at Tres Palmas in Puerto Rico. He wound up with a Traumatic Brain Injury, as a result. No, if he had been wearing a helmet he still would have acquired TBI.
The cure, what really gives us safe passage (this was discussed in thread) is operating utilizing your ability as a human being. That is to say, a human is a Spirit, with a Soul, residing for all intents and purposes while on earth, within a body. Being present, spirit, soul and body is what makes us both effective, and at the end of the day helps bring us home to our families.
I am just back from loitering with K 38 Rescue and the Phoenix Patriot Foundation. We got to spend Veterans Day weekend putting on a challenge ride for severely wounded Vets. If you ever get a chance to hang out with a Veteran, I highly recommend it. Try it. You will see what I am talking about.
Tonight I had to do the dread Costco run. We are having some friends over tomorrow for a little get together.
I was in Costco for about 10 minutes, when I had an ominous feeling settle on me. Something was not right. When that happens (It does on somewhat infrequent and rare occasions) I ramp up my situational awareness. I become a predator. You would never know it to look at me. But I am one.
I had the distinct impression that danger was afoot.
My little dinner shopping cruise through the giant warehouse was uneventful. I simply flowed right through it. Chicken, Tri Tip, lots of veggies, coffee, etc. all went into the big white cart. Checkout was a breeze and the teeming crazy crowd I had experienced inside, seemed to have parted like the Red Sea for me.
I headed way the heck out into the back forty, where I had parked my little Mazdaspeed 3, and offloaded the groceries into the hatchback. As I was finishing I noticed that the Tri Tip was MIA. Damn, how could I have lost that? I was planning on making our family recipe Hawaiian teriyaki for everyone.
As I tossed the big 10 pound bag of chicken breasts onto the bags of frozen veggies I saw it. The meat was hiding (always wanted to write that) under the chicken. I checked my receipt. Damn, the checkout people had missed it as well. I had just successfully shoplifted 20 bucks of dead cow from Costco and was way the heck out in the parking lot at night.
I grabbed the bag of meat and receipt in hand jogged back to the entrance, and explained that I needed to pay. I have never stolen anything in my life, and I sure was not about to start now. The Supervisor took me to a register, and thanked me while someone rang me up.
Total detour time maybe 10-15 minutes.
Zipping up the 101 I had dismissed the Costco impressions and wound my way through sedate tempo, but heavy traffic. As I made the turn onto Hwy 33 that winds up to my home and Ojai beyond, I passed a slow moving SUV and accelerated a bit into the decreasing radius turn, just as I have done every day for about 25 years. Headed for the home I share with my wife, Donna.
I saw fresh skid marks leading towards the concrete A rail barrier that is the N-S traffic divider and slowed a bit, then debris, then cars pulled over. One looked like a black Civic and I remembered that I had been thinking about my son Jon who drives one. A little further down the road, another car, and a motorcycle. Probably more debris strike.
As I pulled into my driveway I called Jon to see what he was up to. I wondered about that Civic I had glimpsed. I think most parents do that. Jon told me about his day up in SB and a mountain bike ride and we laughed about how ridiculously dangerous MTB riding can be. “You know how it is Jon, everything is always okay, till it is not, then blam. Badness.”
And it hit me. I could have been right in the middle of that accident.
10-15 minutes at Costco.
Do the right thing.
You may think no one will ever notice. The world will tell you that. Our Politicians re enforce the message with money and situational ethics.
But somehow, it always matters.
So do you.
I live my life immersed in the Bible. It is not a religious thing. It is just how I refer my understanding of creation to everyday life. I had opportunity to look at this earlier today. It is important for many reasons. Meditating on this mattered to me today.
2 Timothy Ch 3
Godlessness in the Last Days
1But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God
10You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whoma you learned it 15and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of Godb may be competent, equipped for every good work.
I have written all of this to drive home a point. We live in perilous times. But God is greater. He desires above all things that you prosper and be in health, and that your soul prospers. He is the proverbial good shepherd. I suggest we all just submit to that. Would make the world a better place. And it is health to our family and community.
Thanks for sharing this, David.
Indeed, and as we both well know (Shawn too, no?), what resides in that body piloting the PWC that day at Tres is quite void of spirit or soul. His behavior in the aftermath proved that. And I was even being a nice guy about it.
These people exist. They’re the static in an otherwise clean air. We just manage their occasional appearances in our sphere.
I used to encounter a lot of these types in my life. He was pretty much the last.
When I lost the white-knuckle grip on the illusion that I could control a whole lot in my life was the first step.
Relinquishing control to the universe, the wind began to blow me where I was supposed to go, and everything improved.
Bad times will come again, no doubt. But now I know how to deal with them so much better having dealt with 900 lbs. of irresponsibly piloted PWC to the head.
😉
Gracias, sensei.