Hello {{first_name | Reader}},
I’ve just posted a new Low Visibility Ahead entry, “Lemmings.”
“Last week I called the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to inform them that we were going to burn four big piles of slash. The nice lady who answered the phone took down our address and phone number and said to be careful. I said careful was our watchword, which was why we were burning when there were three inches of fresh snow on the ground.…”
You can read the rest on my website at johnrember.com/blog/lemmings.
Update on the Inlines
We have skated to Redfish Lake three times on our new inline skates. What seemed like an extravagant expense has proven, so far, to be a good strategy for personal fitness. The Redfish Lake road has been closed to traffic except for the occasional Fish and Game or Forest Service vehicle, and it’s free of snow despite recent flurries. Last year's roadwork has left it wonderfully smooth.
It’s a bit of a workout going up to the lake, but coming out has been quick, so much so that my slaloming down the steep pitches sees me hit the flats with a shudder of relief. Julie makes a point of not getting out of control, so after another quarter-mile or so I finally coast to a stop and wait for her.
So far I haven’t fallen, but I’m a long way from being as skilled as I was when Julie and I were playing roller hockey in the parking lot of the athletic center at the College of Idaho. My balance isn’t as good, I’ve forgotten how to flip around and skate backward at speed, I can’t brake effectively, and now and then I stumble forward because a front wheel has run up against a pinecone I failed to see.
Also, bigger wheels have put me an inch higher than on the old skates. Balance and confidence have gotten a little wobbly.
Julie loves the new equipment. She’s graceful and fast and is grinning whenever I turn to look at her.
I’m still reserving judgement until I remember how to stop.
Coming out, we meet people walking on the pavement, and they smile and tell us, “That’s a good idea.”
"It’s speedy,” I say. If I’m on a steep section, they say, “Hope you make it,” or “Glad you’re wearing a helmet.”
The rest of the time I try to skate like I know what I’m doing, and some of the old skills are coming back, and now and then, when I’ve made it fifty yards without a wobble or lunge, things start feeling good. The road and the wind, the sky and the trees and sun start looking like a renewed world, one that feels good to my old body.
What I’m Reading
After my previous dubious recommendation, I’ve decided to start recommending books that made my life unequivocally better over the years.
So the first is Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It’s a work of practical philosophy, one that cautions against categorizing the world without first examining your categories. It helps you spot cognitive pitfalls before you fall headlong into them without a helmet. It also shows how you can think yourself to the brink of craziness, and advises against taking that last step.
I also recommend Z&MM because it shows you how to eventually forgive yourself for being a thinking person in an unthinking and uncertain world.
