Splinters Get in the Way `
I always thought that a splinter was something that became embedded in your skin. When I went to look up methods to remove a splinter—I not only found several You Tube videos, but I discovered that Splinter was a horror movie. Splinter with a capital was a parasite that turned pleasant people into dreadful hosts.
Words have that way of morphing into something unexpected, but I could understand how splinter meandered into another territory. Those innocuous small pieces often cause a disruption way beyond their size.
And if splinter becomes a metaphor for those small things that get in the way I can see how it wanders off in another direction.
And small splinters over time and if they're not removed infect the entire area. Is that what happened when we stopped listening to one another?
Today I went to KMart —we had a list of items needed for hygiene bags being assembled for Homeless Female Veterans.
Standing in front of a rack of toothbrushes a woman picked up brush after brush—and read the price for each one.
"Everything," she said "is so expensive. Don't you think so?"
**********
"Don't you think so?"
Too many people line up on one side and put blinders on—encouraged by the media.
Too many people feel that the way to get their way is to yell louder and push harder.
There are always some people who don't play that way.
**********
splinters
• If you're into Open Water swimming—serious unfriendly creatures may be swimming under you
• What makes people take on tasks that are surrounded by splinters?
The Marathon des Sables is considered the apex of desert running— "Athletes must cross scorching desert flats, treacherous sand dunes and shadeless, dried out watercourses, or wadis." Oh—they are running 150 miles through the Sahara Desert.
They also carry their food and water, sleeping bags and clothes. The organizers provide the tents. In order to make this more challenging no one knows the route until the the day before the race.
The entry fee for the 2012 race is $3,900 dollars. It's too late to send in any money. The first $1600 was due by July 29th, 2011. They do have a waiting list.
Not to be outdone— 2012 will be the world's first multi-discipline Siberian Black Ice Race across Lake Baikai, Siberia.
Tony Martin described the race as "Longer than England, colder than vodka and harder than granite! Our Siberian Black Ice Race is a challenge that can break even the toughest of the tough—the Marathon des Sables is a walk in the park compared to this..."
This is winter at its cruelest: "Competitors race either the 155 mile sprint or 379 mile Marathon by bike, ski, snow shoeing, skating, foot or kite-ski."
Ah the temperatures will go as low as -40C . Expect strong winds. The Sprint must be completed in seven days or fourteen days for the entire 379 miles.
For those who need specialized training—there's an Extreme World Races Training Camp in Norway.
When I walked twenty miles in a day I did note that my heel had a blister—and I was walking with many other people. In the evening I soaked my feet and then
went out to eat.
**********
Some people don't need to take on extreme tasks to find their lives surrounded by splinters.
Words have that way of morphing into something unexpected, but I could understand how splinter meandered into another territory. Those innocuous small pieces often cause a disruption way beyond their size.
And if splinter becomes a metaphor for those small things that get in the way I can see how it wanders off in another direction.
And small splinters over time and if they're not removed infect the entire area. Is that what happened when we stopped listening to one another?
Today I went to KMart —we had a list of items needed for hygiene bags being assembled for Homeless Female Veterans.
Standing in front of a rack of toothbrushes a woman picked up brush after brush—and read the price for each one.
"Everything," she said "is so expensive. Don't you think so?"
"Don't you think so?"
Too many people line up on one side and put blinders on—encouraged by the media.
Too many people feel that the way to get their way is to yell louder and push harder.
There are always some people who don't play that way.
splinters
• If you're into Open Water swimming—serious unfriendly creatures may be swimming under you
• What makes people take on tasks that are surrounded by splinters?
The Marathon des Sables is considered the apex of desert running— "Athletes must cross scorching desert flats, treacherous sand dunes and shadeless, dried out watercourses, or wadis." Oh—they are running 150 miles through the Sahara Desert.
They also carry their food and water, sleeping bags and clothes. The organizers provide the tents. In order to make this more challenging no one knows the route until the the day before the race.
The entry fee for the 2012 race is $3,900 dollars. It's too late to send in any money. The first $1600 was due by July 29th, 2011. They do have a waiting list.
Not to be outdone— 2012 will be the world's first multi-discipline Siberian Black Ice Race across Lake Baikai, Siberia.
This is winter at its cruelest: "Competitors race either the 155 mile sprint or 379 mile Marathon by bike, ski, snow shoeing, skating, foot or kite-ski."
Ah the temperatures will go as low as -40C . Expect strong winds. The Sprint must be completed in seven days or fourteen days for the entire 379 miles.
For those who need specialized training—there's an Extreme World Races Training Camp in Norway.
When I walked twenty miles in a day I did note that my heel had a blister—and I was walking with many other people. In the evening I soaked my feet and then
went out to eat.
Some people don't need to take on extreme tasks to find their lives surrounded by splinters.
1 Comments:
Love this, and the way it circles from the small splinter to bizarre endurance tests and closes with a metaphor for life as simply difficult.
Post a Comment
<< Home