Saturday, February 20, 2010

What I Failed to Learn at the Jones Center Pool

Kayaking protocol is fairly strict on the idea that one paddler should not tell another paddler whether he should run or not run a particular rapid. We scout for hazards together; we help our friends assess their own skills in light of the risks presented by those hazards; we set safety for each other and assist to the extent we can with a rescue when things go wrong; we do not tell another paddler whether he should run or not run a particular rapid. We are ultimately responsible for our own safety. We may run rapids we have no business running but we do so because we want to learn and grow as paddlers. I went in to the pool at the Jones Center today because I wanted to learn and grow as a paddler. I knew the risks.

3 comments:

carl duewall said...

is that what a red headed man with a sun tan looks like?

Dave Renfro said...

This is a tough photograph to take because of the lack of contrast. Unlike the Sun, pool chemicals do not leave a shadow. Don't ask me why I can go swimming in this same pool for hours with no ill effects but when I kayak in it, I get lit on fire. But yeah, that's pretty close to what a red-headed man with a sun tan looks like, before all the pre-cancerous growths are removed. Hi, Carl!

red dirt girl said...

YEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!
like granny mule always said,
"Well, i swwaaaannnn !"

xxx