Serious stuff........

Life = Vely Interesting........ 

Take a float trip for example.  The goal, fun... relaxation...  getaway...  Road trip, snacks purchased, SUV filled up.. packed, clothes of sorts to adjust to Mother Nature.  Happy.  Lawn chairs, filled with the bods of good friends. Twigs, logs, mebbe some lighter fluid - circle of rocks - bingo, firepit - fun, the heart rate goes beep     beep    beep     beep in a very good way.

Oh 'shirt', life happens.  Rain.  Leaky tent.  Damn skeeters.  A phone alarm goes off, meaning, one hour until the bus leaves to drop floaters off at the entry point.  Air mattress leaked, ya slept on flat ground... 'slept' being, your clothes were mostly soaked, ya got maybe three hours sleep.  It's OK, we're off for fun.  'Nuff serious crap.

Smiles aplenty.  Runny makeup, who cares, coolers packed with libations, snacks, bungy cords. Yippee Ki Yay, let's roll.  Bus driver smiley, in spite of doing this virtually every day, over and over.  Where's Scooter. Scooter's always late.  Stressy, don't need stressy.  Finally, "There he is."  He was fun-cussed as he boarded.

"Don't let your feet get wet" smiley driver announced as he dumped everyone off.  Canoes grabbed.  Floating veterans in the water, in their canoe in a jiffy.  Grumpy old men, women, took a little longer - but, sometimes even in serious business (placing overweight, outta shape, vely old, herniated disc, third hip, onto into canoe) can produce funny, ha ha moments.  Stating "Hold my beer" doesn't haveta include "and watch this" because it ain't a feat, it's a struggle of the feet.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200 if you are the first person to capsize, especially if you ain't even moved away from shore....... Soon, all in.

Serious comes in all forms.  One such form, the pair in the lead canoe... no real interest in a stop downstream on a sand bar to tell old (and new) war stories. Nope.  Blinders on, "I'll be damned if this is a six hour float - we're doing it in four." Fun, well done, I guess.

For a good period of time......... Nature lends beauty, greenery, bluffs, critters here, critters there (birds, herons, beavers, muskrats, squirrels, baby deer, even fishies in the clear clear water.)  Hank took in all the beauty as he paddled, steered from the back...  Sandy sitting upfront, controlling the pace, peeking for debris in their path - did also.  "I love you's" came out at virtually the same (owe me a Coke) time.  Calmness, doing 'want to's', no cubicle walls, commuter traffic, bills in the mailbox, "it's only Tuesday"s, humdrum, same ole same ole stressy crap the last thing on paddler minds.  Clear water yields reflection, as do those beep      beep      beep       beep heart rate moments do too. Reflection of calm.  Love. Thankfulness. Getting the hell away from the day to day.

"RAPIDS AHEAD!!!!!!" hollered one canoe person.  The oldest dogs tweren't skeered, "been there, navigated that."  Newbies, white-knuckled even before the announcement, sat up taut, erect. Eyes ahead.  No sign of the lead speed racer canoe tipped over, ambulances, etc.. should be ok.

Like life, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage... or, mebbe, two oars and a canoe...  but too, we all know it's a rollercoaster.  The "I love you's" just uttered from Hank and Sandy's canoe - now replaced with "DAMNIT HANK, TURN RIGHT, NOW!".... "I WILL, BUT YOU STICK YOUR OAR DOWN ON THE LEFT SIDE NOW TOO, and, PADDLE BACKWARDS WE'RE GOING TOOO FAST!"

Beep      beep      beep      beep has done gone to beep-beep-beep-beep-beep...   Serious stuff... the getaway from the stress is now getaway from the dayum rapids, I like my life, I like my limbs, admittedly kinda worried, oh, and I'd really hate to see my cooler of Miller Lite go floating past the lead canoe idiots, er, I mean friends.

Chutes, whitewater, cascades, cataracts, falls, torrent, deluge.. 

Then, at home..........  feeling overwhelmed, time management, procrastination, finances, grief, anxiety, loneliness, health issues, work-life balance.......

I know there are those who don't like foat trips, as in, huh uh, no way Jose, I ain't going, I ain't doing it.

To me, life is sooooo full of serious stuff...  I tried to think of the calmest moments in my life.  I really think the vast majority of time spent within a float trip - is perhaps the calmest I've ever felt.

Partnered.  Beauty.  Nature.  No minimum speed limit.  Usually, a nice group of friends along.. Campfires..  War stories..  Laughter..  Hugs..  Comfort clothes (not 'look at me' clothes)..  "How's my hair look?"  Who gives a damn.

I talk too much, sorry, kinda.  This morning on TV I saw a brief clip on kids.  Creek Crawlers.  Seven boys, one girl.  Instead of the present day stay'er in'er all day, play video games, eyes glued to phone, Facebook, all things not conversed, enjoyed in the flesh... these kids take their phone with them, but, they build forts... swim... fish... they sing.. . shoot hoops... outside... explore... and they record, report it on Instagram.

Their goal is to get one million followers.  They're presently at 665,000 and growing.  Not to be surprised, a majority of the viewers are age 45 and up, brought back to simpler times, times with no big worries.

I think that's really all we want in life. Sure, if we didnt have the fall-downs, we'd never have the stand-rise ups.  Capsizing in a rapid affords remembering how comforting, relaxing, lazy rivers are.

The laps of life.  Many having steeple chase like obstacles (hurdles, creeks to hop).. the lazy river is among my fav.......

I've found, envisioning living daily in a lazy river helps me.  Victor?  You preaching again damnit?

No.  Just desire a nice ride whilst we're here.  Make love, not War.  Mebbe steer clear of them that ain't got their oars in the water.  Remember to let hair down with fair frequency.  Life is short.  Slow down ya move too fast, ya got to make the morning (and afternoon, evening, night) last.

It is said, "Maybe a nice prerequisite to marriage would be to go on a float trip together first."  Test of wills, stresses mebbe.  Done 'alter'ed' twice, no regrets with either canoe partner, would do the same, pick the same again.

The lazy river, calm current, no stresses are cinchy.  It's the serious stuff in life that is difficult.

BRB, going to see what the going rate is at Maggard's Campground on the Little Niangua is.  Then mebbe I'll hunt for a canoe mate.

Happy day, Victurd