The other day Ian and I were watching TV, and that
commercial for a particular cruise line came on. You might know the one – it starts with a
woman standing on the deck of a ship, looking out to sea and saying, “Never
again”. Then it flashes back to a scene
of her and her husband sitting in a car screaming as it is being shaken by a
grizzly bear on one side and a mountain lion on the other. Ian just looks over at me, laughs, and signs,
“the two of us”. My wife, Sidney,
happened to have been in the room at the time, saw that sign, and just rolled
her eyes. I just laughed at her.
The commercial is relevant to us because our perception
of that flashback is far different than that on the commercial. We would be thrilled to be in that car. Who knows, it still may happen. You see Ian and I have been saving our
pennies and we are going back to Yellowstone this spring. It has become known as the ‘man trip’. We are hoping to run into bears and wolves
and bison and elk. If we are very, very
lucky, maybe we will see a mountain lion.
We also will continue what has become something of a quest. We are going to continue to try and find a
moose. We’re going to start this year in
Grand Teton National Park and move north into Yellowstone, finishing up in the
Lamar Valley. We already have our plans
set for a whitewater run and another horseback trip. This year we are going to try and do a float
trip on the Snake River in Grand Teton (good chance to find that moose).
So why is any of this important? In and of itself, it is not really
important. What IS important is that
concept of perception. Is the glass half
full or half empty? What the woman on
the commercial implies is a dangerous risk, we really see as an adventure. How do you see the world? Are you willing to have an adventure or lock
yourself down inside your house? Or
maybe you are somewhere in the middle.
Our family seems to have the view that whether Ian has a disability or
not, we (and he) cannot lock ourselves away and hide from the world. Honestly, Ian won’t let us, even if we wanted
to. He does understand that there are
both good and bad things in the world, as do we. But Ian chooses to face all of it.
So when it comes to situations like bears and wolves and
moose, we learn what we can, listen to people like the park rangers and guides,
and follow their advice. Does that mean
everything will go perfectly? No, but it
certainly moderates the level of risk.
We make a point of being aware. I
am always amazed, for instance, of people who treat wild animals like they are
in a petting zoo, or don’t follow signs to stay on the walkways in area where
there are thermal features. Typically,
those folks are at the real risk for getting hurt. But bad things sometimes can and do
happen. Then again, something bad can
happen walking down the street in front of your house. But in front of your house you usually don’t
worry about it because you are comfortable there, and know the ‘rules’ of that
world. When you think about it, it
really is all about perception, isn’t it?
Now this year, Ian and I will have some company. Sidney is coming on the first part of the
trip with us. She was able to get the
time off to come with us. She did ask if
it was OK for her to join in on our man trip.
Ian told her fine, as long as she followed the ‘man rules’. She asked what they were. Ian told her that he and I made the plans for
what we were doing. Further, there was
no complaining if he and I chose not to shave.
Also, all dietary restrictions on healthy eating requirements were
lifted. If we chose to eat cinnamon buns
for breakfast with a soda, that was ok.
(Not like we would really do that, right?) Sidney told him she could live with
that. She said that as long as the rules
did not involve running around the park carrying 3 pounds of pork chops as
bait, life is good. So the adventure is
on….
Oh, and the other day the insurance ad was on TV. You know, the one with the two antelope
wearing night vision goggles and razzing the lion named Carl who now cannot
sneak up on them? Well Ian had an
idea. He looked over at me and told me
that if we could get a couple of pair, we could go critter watching in the
middle of the night, when no one else would be running around in Yellowstone. I
told him it was an idea worth considering. Sidney, with her eagle eyes, happened to see
this conversation. Needless to say, she
was not happy. I guess she was seeing
what she considers the male perception of reality, which she thinks is slightly
skewed. We were told in no uncertain terms that we were not going to waste good
money on expensive toys! She would brook
no discussion. I saw a certain logic in
Ian’s idea, but I guess Sidney does not.
I guess the man rules don’t apply to this trip until we arrive at the
airport…..
