> Alas, they do die, too! Yeah. Then they've gotten liberty AND death. I spent many years on a dive-rescue team. We performed both climbing and water rescues. Kids going rock-climbing during an ice storm, trespassing to get to the really cool cave in the cliff so they could drink beer, leaving the geeky-looking PFD in the ski locker while they ran the overpowered boat into the wing dam at 25 knots or capsized the canoe into Spring's rushing high water with blue jeans, tennies and a sweatshirt that made them a cross between a Smurf and Resusci-Anne when we finally got them out. I took pride in giving back to my community and working with the best Team of men and women with whom it has ever been my privilege to work. But my enthusiasm gave way to a feeling that said, "Why are we risking our lives?" -- and making value judgments about both the few rescued and the many needlessly dead. When those thoughts intrude, the unhesitating willingness to go into harm's way to help gives way to a cynicism that has no place in that kind of work. I was fortunate in that I was able to recognize the beginnings of burnout and compassion fatigue in myself before it affected my work with the Team, and I took my leave. When we did a recovery I always found a job that would take me as far as possible from the newly-bereaved family when they began that process everyone calls "closure" and which was all too often the only thing we could give them to go along with the rigid cold thing we found that was so recently their kid. But it was never far enough, because there is no way to be out of earshot; even now I am occasionally awakened by that sound that shatters a peaceful night's sleep. No. You cannot legislate common sense and everybody knows their limits which usually include some degree of immortality. But everyone who loves to live life on the edge should hear, if only once, the noise a mother makes when we start to rinse the gear. Jim the washed-up Divemaster *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> When we did a recovery I always found a job that would take me as far > as possible from the newly-bereaved family when they began that > process everyone calls "closure" and which was all too often the only > thing we could give them to go along with the rigid cold thing we > found that was so recently their kid. But it was never far enough, > because there is no way to be out of earshot; even now I am > occasionally awakened by that sound that shatters a peaceful night's > sleep. > > > But everyone who loves to live life on the edge should hear, if only > once, the noise a mother makes when we start to rinse the gear. > > Jim the washed-up Divemaster I have heard that sound from a distance of three feet for a week straight. Its a sound that almost isnt human. I was asked to pick out the coffin on Christmas eve because the family couldn't. It runs through my mind occasionally. I wish it wouldnt. Jim et al *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On 10/26/06, Yancey Burnsides <dogworkings_at_pobox.com> wrote: > > > Alas, they do die, too! > > Yeah. Then they've gotten liberty AND death. > A thoughful piece. I've spent some time wondering why people do obviously stupid things. And the answer may be that they survived the last 30 or 40 stupid things they tried so why wouldn't they survive this one? I've rescued picnickers in tenny runners from Mt. Index (east of Everett, WA on Highway 2); often couples who decide to climb on a whim. This slender crag attracts casual hikers every year. It's easy to climb up; not so easy to climb down. You would think it would be obvious. I stood on the banks of the Deschutes river (Class III+) and watched one rented raft go past me every minute. At least half of these boats had at least one person who was not wearing a PFD. Many of the rafts had people who were drinking beer and acting drunk. Lots of them stop to beach their rafts, party, and then continue on down the river. I've seen PFDs spread over the Yakim River like confetti after a raft full of family members decided to play in the "white water" of a 20-foot Maybe it's the "Disneyland" effect. This is when people lose the ability to differentiate between an ersatz adventure where conditions are carefully contrived and controlled and the real thing. "I shot blanks at a hippo on the real Zambezi river and the damn thing still ate my boat." But if we think it's just a modern phenomenon we need to step back. Loggers in the Cascades moved logs down the Wenatchee River to Leavenworth by way of one of the wildest sections of river in the northwest. And some guys had the job of riding those logs. Standing on them as they went through Class V rapids. Or the era of "wooden ships and iron men". Why do people still smoke cigarettes when they print a warning right on the label? Someone once told me that one-third of the world are bozos but we all get a turn. And if you meet me on the day it's my turn then you may have a different opinion of me than if you were to meet me on one of the other two days. :) Thanks for putting in your time trying to help. Don't dwell on the ones you didn't save; think about the ones you did save. Craig Jungers Royal City, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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