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| Skateboards in 1978 Christmas Catalog |
Our
skateboards in the sixties were anything, but ‘extreme’. Compared to major
pikes and skateboard parks of today we were like grannies on four wheels.
>>> four tiny wheels <<< There was little mention of, “boy that's
dangerous!”
So,
let me ask you, “What is the MOST dangerous thing that you've ever done
yourself, or have ever seen from someone that you know?
I've
been told by friends or acquaintances more times than I can remember, that they
would never go or never do…blank. As I write, I find myself, with 180 other
passengers, once again some thirty-five thousand feet above our lovely planet.
And yes, I know a few of whom you would never see in such “predicament”. Yet,
even each one of them daily place themselves into “potential” danger as they drive
from their homes to…wherever. And you know what, they never think, “Oh no, I
think that I might die this time”. >>> “Or look over to their passengers and remark, “Buckle
up, because I’m afraid that the next twenty minutes ... they might just be our last”.
Even
birth today can be more dangerous than most situations that I’ve placed myself
into over the past twenty plus years. Grateful that my sixteen year old mother
wasn't placed in >>> or bombarded <<< with the decision of
abortion. Though I firmly believe that had it been legal, that she would have
chosen life for this now sixty-one year old man. Still, the womb has become
potentially the MOST dangerous place on earth.
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| Divi, Crew and Myself in the DR |
That
said, how many of you would have stayed home verses traveling to the Dominican
Republic after the recent news from our U.S. media? Yet, what did I find … four
days in the colonial section of the ancient city of Santo Domingo, as nothing
but a peaceful and friendly experience. Then the three-hour bus ride to and from the
Jarabacoa area, could easily be compared to the best of our own Greyhound
services. And add to these my ten-day adventure at the Pico Escondido Young
Life camp, and I ask, “New York Post, where are you now?”
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| West Darfur - Learning our Languages |
But
Rick, I think that the most dangerous trip that you've traveled has to be to
West Darfur in the Sudan where you were in the midst of insane genocide. No
wait, it would have to be the trip to Sri Lanka where the Tamil Tigers were wreaking
havoc upon the small island. No, I know, yeah I know, it was thinking that it
was a smart idea to drive a few thousand miles through Mexico. Seriously, the 'most dangerous', it
has to be placing your butt onto a motorcycle. Yeah, that's the most dangerous!
“Did you hear about…” Or another says, “My uncle died fifteen years when a car didn't
see him and crossed in front of his path”.
Now let
me be the first to say that I’m not trying to glorify my journey or to think
that for a moment that what I’ve been so fortunate to experience is placed in a
category anywhere close to that which our combat veterans face. Or that those who have died in the DR or other countries are not significant. No, perhaps I
write this to make us aware >>> to reiterate the obvious, which is
<<< that we must recognize that life is full of risk, and with plenty
of danger which presents itself in myriads of ways each and every day. The only
escape is, well, ironically death itself. The very reason for which we run from danger, is to escape that which is inescapable.
I
hope to never lose not just the spirit of adventure, but an awareness that The
Spirit, His Spirit is, can be our Guide. Even Paul was hindered from heading
east into Bithynia. I trust that with appropriate discernment, that the journey
ahead will continue to be viewed through the lens of adventure, the lens of service
to our Father, and not that which echoes those voices that cry out …
Rick, I
would never do that!
Of the 162 blogs that I have posted over the past decade, this song might reflect the intended message better than any prior. It is a song by Dan Bremnes. Check him out at https://www.danbremnes.com/ Thanks Dan for gifting us with this song! In appreciation, your bro in Christ
