Re: [Paddlewise] My first encounter with a black bear

On Monday 13 August 2007 20:50, Shannon wrote an interesting:
> What amazes me still is how nonchalant most everybody
> was.  " They only want the food, so don't have any in
> your tent."   " Oh, it was just a bear.  I've been
> around them lots in Yosemite.  "

Sounds like comments you do hear in any dangerous
situation, that reflect people's different ways of handling it,
not in any way proof of nonchalance.

First, you've got denial - it wasn't anything, like some parents
say to their kids, after some mishap, like a broken leg, when 
in fact both parents are scared shitless.

That's comforting for the kids, I guess ...

Second, it is those who actually been in more dangerous 
situations, who are used to danger, say firefighters, police, 
wardens, or nurses. Then the individual bear is nothing but
a nuisance.

Thirdly, the real cool ones, who don't let things upset 
them, period. Who never are nervous, no matter what 
happens - not necessarily very nice people, but not
necessarily hard to have around. Such people often lack
empathy for others, but not always.

Fourthly, there are those who are young and stupid, who
just want to show off, and sing along - all too common!

Happily this fourth category usually matures into something else.

Anyway, all those types of people might talk in a similar manner
after at close shave, like the bear in the car incident, and
only the last are nonchalant and stupid.

I remember vividly a helicopter crash some years back (the
accident even made the news internationally), where I was one
of the heliguards, who had to dive for cover when the helicopter
crashed into the platform's helipad. 

God was with us that day, so nobody was killed, except the heli
that was a write-off. A few concussions, some bruises, hurting
shoulders, that was all.

But the reactions from those onboard was very varied. Two of the
Fourth category was onboard, jumped out smiling and thought
it was great - a few hours later they had begun to realise what a close 
call it had been, so they were flown off to hospital, before they
had mental breakdowns, or worse.

The pilot likewise jumped out with a " went well this time, too"  and went 
off to call the boss. 

A technican onboard said he was OK and went straight back to work -
and had to be called back, as the nurse wanted to be sure he wasn't in 
shock - he wasn't. I think he's a Third type, but I don't know him, to say 
for sure.

The other two, a man in his sixties and one about thirty, had crashed into
each other, as the latter hadn't strapped in (stupid bugger). The old guy
had to retire afterwards, as his neck got a beating when the younger 
heavier guy crashed into him, while the younger man had problems with a
torn shoulder afterwards and nightmares, over and over again.

He was the only one who reflected on the accident at the time, fully
realising that it had indeed been a close shave - had the engine exploded
just a second earlier they'd all be dead, as then the helicopter would
have crashed into the side of the semisubmersible, and fallen into
a watery grave, where the water was as cold as it gets - a few degrees 
below freezing.  

Had it crashed a little to the left, or right, I'd been dead, so it was
indeed a close call.

I used to be afraid of a lot of things as a youth (probably due to
a fall down a staircase as a toddler), now very little frightens me -
I know I am here on borrowed time, and Fortune/God/Allah/Jehova
is calling the shots. So I try to live simple, plan ahead as little as 
possible, as things never turn out as planned - often much better,
quite often worse.

This week we were going paddling and sailing our Klepper XXL,
and while we did some, I suddenly fell ill and we had to leave,
quite urgently, to see a doctor. With logistics in the form of
transporting a lot of gear from a remote point to where the car 
was parked, it took two trips to get it all back from our base camp,
then it was the disassembly of the rig, the two Balogh outriggers,
main mast and junk sail, the mizzen with its mast, and finally the stowing 
it all into the tiny trailer and the car, it took about a day - at the
maximum speed we managed at the time, considering my condition.

Better today if not fully recovered - I have posted a photo to show what
I looked like at http://foldingkayaks.org/gallery/A-lot-of-Junk%21/P8120388

Got to go,
Tord
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