[Paddlewise] clinging to bouys

A paddlewiser writes: "[another Passdlewise member] pokes fun at folks who 
certificate their walls but do not regularly "test the envelope" of their 
skills and preparation on the water. He makes a valid point,...."

I don't agree completely. The whole idea with an outdoors sport, for most of 
us, is to have fun - not necessarily to test our strenght, endurance, or 
emergency response. 

Taking courses is fun. Achieving a certain level of competence through those 
courses is also fun, and it imbues most of us with a little insight into what 
we can reasonably do, and what we ought to avoid.

If I go around bragging about a course I've taken or an award I've won (or 
"posting certificates on my wall"), that's a sign of insecurity in me. It 
also makes me look like a damn fool, because in any given group there are 
going to be people who have done more and *will* do more than I've done.

But if I pass my ACA ICE (which, by the way, I'd never be able to do in a 
million years) and then choose to paddle around my duck pond for the rest of 
my life, that's just me having fun. You might not enjoy paddling in around my 
pond, but that doesn't make it a character flaw.

Bill Hansen
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