By Carol Daly
I grew up with two older brothers and no sisters but now, I’m fortunate that have a handful of friends who I consider my sisters. One of them, Louise, has a house in the country and during a visit one weekend we decided to go tubing on the Delaware. From the looks of the water, it seemed that this would be an exciting but somewhat relaxing three mile journey down the river on a tube. We drove to the tube rental place, parked the car and boarded a truck in our bathing suits, wet sandals and the tubes – nothing else. The truck lets you at off at the start of the trip and then picks you up three miles down the river. And so the truck let us off by the river so that we could begin our trip.
It was a very hot day and the river looked unusually calm. We climbed into the tubes and onto the water that initially felt cool and refreshing. The tubes moved but at a snail’s pace. There was no one around and no one else on the river. With a little arm-rowing we moved a little faster. I was content, in control of my tube and in no rush. Louise, however, was having a hard time getting her tube to move at all. I tried to reassure her that we would be moving – eventually but she grew more and more frustrated.
We were surrounded by rocks on one side of the river and a 15 foot steep dirt ridge with homes atop on the other side. Louise was growing agitated to the point of panic and said that she wanted to get off of the river immediately. “Louise” I said, “There is no way we are getting off the water, just relax and row with your arms.” She wouldn’t have it, we began arguing and so my peaceful float on the river was taking a different turn. “Oh —-” I thought, “She is going to find a way to climb out of here!” Louise proceeded to slowly row towards the 15 foot dirt ridge and I, growing more furious by the minute decided I’d better follow or I’d be left on the river by myself!
I must admit it was slow and hot on that river but I could have enjoyed it. I was fearful of climbing that ridge and remembered a line in a song by Joni Mitchell “Fear is like a wilderland, stepping stones or sinking sand.” We approached the dirt mountain and in our thin plastic shoes and bathing suits, each carrying an inner tube we scrambled up the impossible hill that seemed like Mount Everest to me.
We were covered in dirt and I was so angry at Louise for messing up my day and putting us in this predicament. I wanted to kill her! However, when we got close to the top I felt a sense of accomplishment in being able to get off that river and successfully make it to the top. But that was not the end of our journey. We came to the houses and began ringing bells but no one was home! We had no money or phones and I was once again fuming and mad at Louise.
We walked endlessly and finally came upon a main road and the only option was to hitch a ride. Envision this: Two women in their forties in bathing suits, carrying inner tubes hitching a ride. A big pick-up truck came by and said we could climb into the open back (you know the part of the truck that holds the chickens or the hay). We climbed in and had the most thrilling ride at 60-70 miles an hour! We yelled as the wind went though our hair and stomachs –much as you feel when on a roller coaster. I felt so happy and free and grateful to have my creative and determined friend. It became a wonderful experience!
As we get older it’s easy to become conservative. What a gift it is to have friends who are not exactly like us but who challenge us to go above and beyond what we think is possible. With a little flexibility, muscle and trust, any situation can become a great adventure!
“Life is best lived by being bold and daring. People tend to grow fearful when they taste failure, face a daunting challenge or become ill. Yet that is precisely the time to become even bolder. Those who are victors at heart are the greatest of all champions.”
Daisaku Ikeda
