|
sunshine jen: Avoid Collision
How is everyone doing? I hope you are doing okay.
I am well. I am healthy both mentally and physically. I even discovered a fun Zumba class on you tube. It's raining again in LA this week, but it's only rain.
Back in December, I bought myself a bunch of new neckguard scarves. They are rings of fabric that you can wear on your head or to cover your face or protect your neck. They're versatile, and I wear them when sailing. I can cover my head, so my hair doesn't fly all over the place. I can also protect my face from the sun and wind and look like a sailing ninja.
Now, I'm wearing a neckguard over my face to walk the dog. Does it protect one hundred percent from all the viruses in the world? No, but it helps. Besides, when I put one on, I think about sailing, and that makes me happy. Also, the dog is happy because he's walking. Happiness is all around.
As I walk the dog and maintain a six foot circle around myself, I started to think about how everyone is walking around trying to maintain their six foot bubbles in order to avoid collision with other six foot bubbles. This also made me think of sailing, and sailing makes me happy.
For the last few years, I have been teaching sailing. One important lesson I teach my students is how to avoid collisions with other boats. We talk about the importance of maintaining a lookout for other boats while knowing which boat has the right of way. For example, a sailboat (under sail) has right of way over a powerboat. However, if that powerboat is large and does not have the ability to maneuver, then the sailboat should give the powerboat right of way in order to avoid collision. There are other rules too, but I won't bore my non-sailor readers with them.
I was thinking about avoid collision when I saw a mother with two young kids on tricycles walking toward me. She does not have the ability to maneuver as I do with the dog (who is a very good boy, yes he is), so I moved off the side walk to pass her. I was thinking of avoid collision when I saw the old man in an electronic wheelchair, so doggie and I shifted over to the tree lawn and negotiated some exposed tree roots in the rugged nature section of our walk. I thought of avoid collision when doggie discovered the greatest smell ever and had to sniff it for several minutes while a jogger came down the sidewalk and ran around us by going out into the street. Once again, collision avoided. My six foot bubble remains intact. Woohoo!
By the way, the doggie, who is a husky, loves to stop and look at cats sitting on their front lawns. He stares at them, and the cats stare back. Neither one moves. Neither one is aggressive. They just take a moment. It's kind of cool to watch. Then we move on.
|
|
|
