11/28/24 1030: Letting go of the known.

Being a river guide teaches you things.  What a charismatic experience it is to take guests (some of whom this would be their first time in an inflatable kayak on whitewater) down such an extraordinary section of the Green River in Western North Carolina.

But this type of guiding is slightly difference than river guiding in a raft. Guiding in an eight person raft means everyone is in one place...in your boat and while you’re steering from the rear, you’re also giving verbal instructions for your rafters to paddle forward or backward to get your boat where it needs to go. If someone falls out there’s seven other people to help get them back into the boat.

Guiding trips of people down the river who are each in their own inflatable kayak is a whole different story. Ultimately, each guest is responsible for paddling their own kayak down the river while you show the way in your kayak.  But it didn’t take me long to land in a place of frustration on many of these trips down the Upper.

As a guide, my job was to paddle the path of least resistance down the Green and each guest was supposed to follow in a single-file line. Like ducks in a row. Well, sometimes the ducks weren’t in a row at all.  Sometimes...many times...more than I’d like to count…people took another path. And then they got stuck on rocks or fell out of their kayak or got hung up in tree branches on the riverbank or number of other things.

For longer than I’d like to admit...watching this unfold each day was frustrating...because this was totally avoidable. There was a known path down this river and through these rapids and why wouldn’t these folks choose to take this path? So many times, while paddling in the front of the group, I’d turn around and see guests literally ping-ponging off of each and every rock, versus following in the same line that I was showing them to go all the while avoiding the rocks.  I couldn’t understand it.

I reached into the deepest parts of my patience bucket and did my best to calmly and politely assist these paddlers through the many complications we found ourselves in together (stuck on rocks, gathering up a paddle or a boat after they fell out, etc). All the while grimacing under my breath that this wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Until one day, one fateful day...it struck me.

“Rach, people are going to experience this river the way they are going to experience the river. It’s THEIR experience. It’s their choice. Let them have it their way. Let go.”

From that day forward my frustration all but evaporated entirely. Let people do it how they are going to to it. It’s not your experience...it’s there's. Let them have it how they want it.

Of course I guided trips after this “ahah” moment like I always did. Showing guests “the path of least resistance” down the river. But I let go of the notion that they needed to experience in “the known” way.

That’s just it isn’t it?  We all have the freedom to experience life in any way we choose. The guide might be suggesting this way...but ya know what...I’m gonna go this way instead. Freedom to choose.
Naturally, there are consequences to some of these choices...to which we must take responsibility for having landed there….but ah the joys of whitewater kayaking!

Never a dull moment. Always a life-lesson to be learned.
And I have so much to be grateful for from these and so many other experiences life has brought across my path. What a fascinating world we live in! Live it to the fullest...however that may look or feel or be.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May it be full of joy and laughter, love and light.

11/19/2024 14:00: Must we make Rules about Bathrooms?

 

Well here we go. Not even two weeks after the election results were declared...it’s already started. No no, don’t scroll past this post just because I mentioned the election. Give this a look because I want to demystify a subject that’s been insidiously used to propagate “protect the children” and now “erasure of women’s rights” rhetoric and propaganda.

Ready for it?  ….Bathroom Bans.

No no, don’t leave yet. Because I’m about to tell you a different side of this issue and why bathroom ban proposals are not only detrimental but also pernicious.

So as not to belabor the point let me get right to it.  Bathroom bans are ludicrous. Bathroom bans are befuddlements...and these bans create a whole assortment of unsuspected fallout.

First of all, is this really the best Ohio legislatures can do right out of the gate?
Six days ago the Ohio Senate approved a ban on transgender students using bathrooms that fit their gender identities and sent the measure to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine for signature.
According to an article written by Julie Carr Smyth and published by the Associated Press on November 13th, “State Sen. Jerry Cirino, a Kirtland Republican, said the bill “is about safety and security.”

Let me interject here and now why this is ludicrous.  If safety and security for our nations youth were a genuine concern, then wouldn’t there be bans on predatory men being allowed to prey about young girls in churches? Wouldn’t there be more deliberation when it comes to reproductive health in young girls who became pregnant against their will? Wouldn’t there be bans on private ownership of high-caliber weapons that utilize detachable magazines that seem to be associated with school shootings? 

I call bullshit! ...on the reasons and whys behind Ohio Senators who felt it so important to pass a bathroom ban in the State of Ohio right out of the gate. There are immensely more important issues that affect Ohioans than who’s using what bathroom. I mean, come on. Human beings have been utilizing bathroom facilities for centuries. Making rules about bathrooms is not what you think it’s about.
Secondly, let’s discuss the unsuspected fallout of the rhetoric behind bathroom bans. I can guarantee you no one sits up late at night and worries about the use of public restrooms...UNLESS...you fall into a marginalized group. Let’s not forget U.S. history of segregated bathrooms for a moment. See? Ludicrous, ridiculous….bathrooms are meant to do one thing...relieve yourself. Simple fact.

But as someone who doesn’t fit the accepted appearance norms...we DO think about public bathroom use. Why? Because as it stands right now...left alone...no bans...for myself to walk into a women’s public restroom...I’ve been told such things as, “wrong one,” and received double-take looks from women walking into the women’s restroom I’m standing in while washing my hands at the sink. I am in fact selective when I use a public bathroom because I don’t want to have to defend myself each and every time I enter or depart a women’s restroom. Since my appearance is often mistaken for male...you might understand why this is problematic.

The implication that birth certificates should be carried as proof of gender is something I think about. After all, will bathroom bans lead to empowering people to think upon seeing me walk into a women’s restroom that it’s within their right to demand that I show them proof that I am in fact female?

And here’s a newsflash. No transgender person walks into the bathroom (they feel the most safe using) with the intent to cause harm to anyone else. (Even though this is the exact insinuation being spread by proposing transgender bathroom bans.) If a trans person walks into a bathroom he or she is simply there to do one thing and one thing only...relieve themselves and then go on about their day like any other human being. 

It’s laughable that today in the news...(according to articles at cnn, delawareonline dot com, the hill dot com and many other news sources) “South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace on Monday introduced a resolution to amend the rules of the US House of Representatives less than two months before Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator, is sworn-in in January.”
According to delawareonline dot com “The sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the Left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol,” U.S. House Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican who represents South Carolina, said in a statement. 

So here’s the thing. While the alleged claim is the sanctity of protecting women is at stake, this same claim was made way back when the topic of legalizing gay marriage was up for debate. THE SAME CLAIM! Remember...the rhetoric wrapped up in “the sanctity of marriage” debate? The passing of gay marriage rights hasn’t impacted the sanctity of marriage in any way that I personally know. But that’s a whole other article to be written.

No, this maneuver in Washington D.C. is directly linked to harassing Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who will be the first transgender member of the House when the 119th Congress convenes in January. Elected by her constituents in Delaware to represent them in Congress.

Bathroom rules? I think we can legislate better. 

After hurricane Helene ripped through Western North Carolina, I for one have been sorting conscientiously through what truly matters in life and bathroom bills aren’t one of them.
We the people have been managing bathrooms just fine on our own for centuries. And we don’t need lawmakers planting divisive rhetoric in our heads, many of whom don’t fully understand the detrimental ramifications anyway.

Photo credit: Marcin Wichary/Flickr

11/14/24 1730: Rule Number 6 ...and Practices in Possibilities.

 

 

 

 

Over almost two decades ago a book came across my path. I don’t remember the exact details of how it came to be in my hands, but whatever the how, I most certainly remember its impact on me.

This national bestseller was published waaaay back in 2002 and is titled, “The Art of Possibility” by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, and please note it is still fiercely pertinent to present day.

How incredibly ironic that the topic of chapter 6 (all about Rule Number 6) has come into my mind many MANY times in the past few weeks and months. Happy to “spill the beans” here...Rule Number 6 is simply, “Don’t take yourself so g--damn seriously.”

I have a tendency to break Rule Number 6 all over the place and twice on Sunday...and as I thought into why I tend to be so serious...why I take life very seriously at times...well...there’s been a lot at stake in what’s brought me to this spot on the page.

I’ve done a lot of serious stuff...where there were consequences for one’s actions, such as...working as a whitewater kayak guide on the Upper Green River where sometimes being in nature's wild caused crazy things to happen….and then there was working as a conductor for the Dearborn Division of the Norfolk Southern railroad. Not only was the job itself very dangerous at times (life and limb sorta stuff)...the company managers were always looking for a reason to fire you...which lead to a pretty serious work-life. After I was laid off from the railroad (Feb 2020) I worked for the US Postal Service as a rural mail carrier. And let me just say, 2020 was not a very fun, lighthearted time to become a rural mail carrier. Not a day went by from March to October of 2020 where I wasn’t running like my hair was on fire, my vehicle was on fire, the mail was on fire and everything was on fire (also note: this was long before Amazon delivered their own packages but rather shipped them via the USPS), because the paralyzing affect that the COVID debacle had on USPS logistics systems was, well let’s just say...serious. Before all this I was a H.S. and college volleyball and basketball referee for many years...a lot of humorlessness throughout some of those very intense times.

So yes, ever since reading and re-reading “The Art of Possibility” and the chapter about Rule Number 6 I think of this when I need to remember the benefit of laughter and the humorous side of things.

On page 81 you’ll find the following quote:
“Remembering Rule Number 6 can help us distinguish (and hold at some remove) the part of ourselves that developed in the competitive environment of the “measurement world.” {sidebar here...you don’t grow up Baptist and not learn a smidge about the “measurement world.” just saying.} For the sake of discussion, we’ll call it our calculating self. One of its chief characteristics, as we shall see is that it lobbies to be taken very seriously indeed. When we practice Rule Number 6, we coax this calculating self to lighten up, and by doing so we break its hold on us.”

All of this said, I have noticed that more and more folks here on Facebook seem to be turning to humor in these current times we find ourselves...myself included. (I'm seeing more humor related posts...funny cat videos or quips or memes meant to lighten the air or even cause us to burst out in laughter, and thank you for this!) Some of this might be contributed to simply how ridiculous things have become...where you just laugh because that’s the only thing left to do.

It’s also worth noting that laughter is proven to have many health benefits!
According to an article found here (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456) and written by Mayo Clinic staff, laughter can soothe tension, relieve stress response, improve your immune system, relieve pain, and improve your mood.

You don’t have to take my word for it...just find something that makes you laugh and you can see for yourself. So I’ve written this as much for a reminder to myself to turn more of my attention to humor as I have for anyone else. Although...I know you need it too. I’ve read your posts.

If you need a place to start, why not check out: “The Art of Possibility” by the Zanders’. I’ve just added it back to my “current reads” pile. Lord knows I need more laughs and lightheartedness right now too!

Photo Credit: cover of the book 

to the Universe...

 Thank you!

 

11/08/24 1900: Recombobulation.

 

In 2008, Barry Bateman (now retired) former Director of the General Mitchell International Airport (in Milwaukee, WI) invented the word “recombobulation” and created an area to do so just past TSA check-points.

So you just went through the TSA security check enroute to your flights’ departing gate and now your shoes, belt, jewelry and hat are in one hand and your carry on luggage is discombobulated because your toiletries are all askew.  Mr. Bateman recognized the need for an area to recombobulate yourself and your things and of course, to see the humor in it all.

It’s worth noting that also in 2008, the American Dialect Society (the group that selects the “word of the year”) selected this made-up-word as that year’s “Most Creative” Word.
To bring this full circle, it’s also worth noting that the 2023 word of the year as selected by the American Dialect Society was “enshittification.” Well yes, of course it was. The 2024 word of the year hasn’t been selected yet, but I kinda can’t wait to see what this year’s word will be.

But let’s go back to recombobulation. I’ll bet you can see where I’m headed. If I were on the committee that gets to pick this year’s word...you betcha I’d vote for recombobulation.
Kim Hjelmgaard in a USA TODAY article said about 2024, “The Voldemort of years. The annus horribilis. The year that must not be named."

Here’s a recap of some of the intenseness that’s gone down in 2024: February’s AT&T failure of 5G voice and data services, cyberattacks and data breaches directed at healthcare providers and insurance companies in the first half of the year, the AI technology wave...2024 is the year organizations truly began using...and are deriving business value from...this new technology, a karmic year in the courts for Trump, the “that-was-a-very-big-deal” solar eclipse on April 8th, climate-related events that are causing anxiety across the world, the Summer Olympics hosted by Paris, the wreckage and now recovery from Hurricane Helene in WNC, and last but not least...the slippery slope of the U.S. Presidential Election. I’m confident that I left out many other noteworthy topics from 2024...but you get the point.

So yeah...I think a little recombobulation might be in order. Originally intended as a humorous term for the process of reassembling oneself after going through airport security.  It’s undeniable that many of us are in a state of needing to regroup, re-gather, collect ourselves (emotionally and physically), unite, rest and reorganize...to name just a few.

However it is that you find necessary ways and means to recombobulate going forward...please do this. I know for myself, getting back into the forest (now that many parks and National Forests have re-opened) and hiking has been a form of quietude for me. Many have gathered in ceremonial ways to find pathways to grieve, mourn losses and accept what is. Others here in WNC are still reeling from sheer loss.

It’s an uncomfortable time. But this too shall pass.
And most certainly there’s change in the air.
Because what once was...is no more.

It’s time to recombobulate.

Photo Credit: online somewhere, image captured at the General Mitchell International Airport 

11/01/24 1530: Green River Update.

 

Inconceivable. Unimaginable. Disheartening.

These are words I never thought I’d speak about a natural place once described by many (including myself) as a refuge, a sanctuary, a holy place thousands upon thousands of family and friends would go for exhilarating delight.  The Green River and specifically what’s known as the Green River Cove in Polk County North Carolina is one such place.

Whether it was fly-fishing, whitewater kayaking, tubing, hiking, or simply to have a picnic lunch by her waters, this place had a venerable tone. There were campgrounds and cabins and Summer cottages that lined the rivers edge.  Hallowed traditions were shaped here by families bringing their children to her waters to share in the joy of the bewitching experiences found there.

Today, I saw with my own eyes the destruction that Helene brought to the banks of this extraordinary Green River. What once appeared as a brawny and burly wilderness, rugged and sturdy now appears delicate and exposed.

From the lower section put-in named “Fishstop” which somewhere along the line morphed into being called “Fishtop” down stream to the take-out named “Big Rock” is approximately 6 miles. Along the river is a road called “Green River Cove Road.” Along this road were homes and cottages and cabins and campgrounds.

Without getting into the details as to the “lay of the land” and the “watershed” that feeds into Green River Cove the sequence of rain and rising waters and flood levels that began to flow down the Green river created a torrent, a deluge, a cataclysm of not just rising water, but also felled trees, boulders, river rock, and then when homes and cabins and cars began to wash away this debris added to the deluge. And then it began to pile up...and push...and shove.

These six miles of river now looks like a nuclear powered wind pushed and shoved and compressed and bulldozed everything within its grasp. And everything pushed from above was deposited below...in the Green River Cove. Where once everything was green and lush and essentially rainforested, it’s now covered with sand and debris and trash and trees ripped from their roots. Whole trees and roots of trees and then sand and then more trees and roots of trees. The image below used to clearly depict five buildings/structures/homes along this river bank of the Green River which are now simply, gone.

 

It’s hard to notice that the river still flows for how bewildering the insurmountable destruction that is scattered everywhere. But if you look beyond the rearranging, if you can see through the mud and piled up trees, there she is. There’s the Green, still flowing. Her channels are very different now. The rocks are moved into different resting places. But she still flows.

I’ve never seen such colossal change in nature. And what adds to this is that this destruction is not just limited to these six miles of Green River. An unfathomable amount of places like this throughout the entire Western North Carolina region have been rearranged.

I told myself that once I was able to see this beautiful river (that I’ve spent countless hours guiding whitewater kayaking trips and family and friends down its waterways) that I knew I would be one step closer to admitting to myself “what is” and then begin to be able to move forward and become familiar again with the now very new Green River Gorge and Green River Cove.

It’s only been five weeks since Helene came knocking...and already there’s been remarkable improvements to the road surface (much of which wasn’t known if it was still there because of the amount of sand and silt that covered the road...which has since been cleared off) and the two main bridges. Day-by-day there’s more access and debris clean-up and trash removed from the riverbed and its banks.

The Green Riverkeeper, Erica Shanks with Mountain True has been working tirelessly with Precision Grading (lead operator Jake) along with engineers and others to organize, plan and implement clean-up efforts. When all is said and done an environmentally friendly ticker-type parade needs to be held in honor of the Erica’s and the Jake’s in the world here. Who knew just how invaluable heavy equipment operators skills would become here...along with thousands of other sites like this in Western North Carolina.

I do know that in these five weeks a common theme has surfaced which is...everything is evolving and changing day-by-day. So what once seemed like a daunting, insurmountable task...begins to show signs of improvement because as you do one thing...the next appears that needs to be done...and so on...and before you know it...improvement arrives. And then when that improvement is built upon...another improvement arrives.

I don’t know what the next version of the tenacious Green River will ultimately look and feel like...but for now..she’s fragile and resting...but before long...she will persevere and regenerate.

And for those “bridge-builders” and visionaries (like Mountain True and Precision Grading and NC DOT) who are working towards restoration of the almighty Green and the infrastructure around her...a million thanks are due and a tremendous amount of gratitude!

Also worthy of note is that in lieu of the ever-so-famous Green River Race being canceled this year due to the impact of the flood, a festival and a fundraiser was held instead! Collaborating along with Mountain True, the Green River Race team is also highlighting fundraising efforts to be directed towards The Green Race Conservation Project. The main focus in and around the Green River currently is trash and debris removal from the water and its banks.

To learn more about the Green River Race 2024 Festival that was held on November 2nd, click here.

If you wish to learn more about the Green Race Conservation Project or to donate towards the clean-up and recovery process in the Green River please click here.  

Photo Credit (top): https://greenrace.us/

Photo Credit (middle): https://ca.news.yahoo.com/helene-hit-nc-green-river-140810661.html