We found a crazy lady on a hike once. She was determined to go up the mountain to “talk to god,” but as we spoke to her we determined that she meant to throw herself off a cliff. I’ll cut it short and say that we talked her out of it--tricked her really--and met the search and rescue team we had called on the way off the mountain. What a weird, sad day!
Oh wow, Tom, what a difficult situation to have come across, and what a wonderful thing you did to help her. Sounds like your day didn’t turn out quite as you’d planned!
Didn’t go as planned at all--but we were taking my cousin, who was completing his PhD in clinical psychology at the time, and he was really instrumental in us handling this person. I wouldn’t have done as well without him along.
Gosh, that was fortuitous! But there's still huge power in a human connection during an acute situation, regardless of skills. I reckon you'd've done just fine. :D
Boy, can I relate to the 'editing as I write' dilemma! It really takes some practice to get the words out there -then- go back and try to figure out where they all fit. Sort of like dumping the jigsaw puzzle out of the box and getting all the pieces situated before putting it together. You'll get it, though.
I think handwriting notes is great and, in some cases, much more convenient than typing everything up.
Thanks, Mark! What I like about a handwritten draft is that it contains ALL my unfiltered words so I don’t ever feel anxious that I might have forgotten to download something crucial from my brain’s hard drive. Then at the next stage at least I still have the choice as to which words and stories that I leave in. Filtering as I go means that stuff could just get lost altogether.
It was an interesting exercise to work in that way for once - but I know which way I prefer! Drafting by hand takes longer, but it’s more fun and I’m generally more satisfied with the end result.
Thanks! Well I wouldn't say it hadn't crossed my mind to salvage it, but I felt that the hiker who'd dropped it might well come back for it!
I gather from metal detectorists I've spoken to that the ground beneath a stile tends to offer rich pickings thanks to change falling out of people's pockets as they climb over them!
i shouldn't tell about the most incongruous thing i found beneath a stile. i sat down to take a sip of tea from my thermos and a quick protein bar during an all-day hike along hadrian's wall. after my snack-break, i stood up from the stile to gather my things. to my horror i looked down to discover that i had been sitting beside a fossilized human poo the whole time. afterward, i checked my surroundings thoroughly before choosing another location to rest.
Oh my GOODNESS - how revolting! Still, at least it was fossilised and therefore perhaps more innocuous than a fresh one would have been!
It makes me wonder why people aren't just more considerate. I remember 'Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By' in The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley - and her scary sister 'Mrs Be-Done-By-As-You-Did'. I mean, a reasonable person - you, me, anyone sensible, would probably ask themselves whether THEY would like to be the one to find somebody's poo beneath a stile? NO! They would decide that beneath that stile is not where they will poo!
And now I can't get the impression of you, a protein bar and someone else's poo out of my head! But I'm so glad you shared the story! :D :D :D
My thoughts exactly!!! But, yes, it could have been worse. Had it been fresher there likely would have been a partially digested protein bar beside it 🤢 Every outing is an adventure!
As you might expect, I enjoyed your description of your writing process!
Thanks, Mark!
We found a crazy lady on a hike once. She was determined to go up the mountain to “talk to god,” but as we spoke to her we determined that she meant to throw herself off a cliff. I’ll cut it short and say that we talked her out of it--tricked her really--and met the search and rescue team we had called on the way off the mountain. What a weird, sad day!
Oh wow, Tom, what a difficult situation to have come across, and what a wonderful thing you did to help her. Sounds like your day didn’t turn out quite as you’d planned!
Didn’t go as planned at all--but we were taking my cousin, who was completing his PhD in clinical psychology at the time, and he was really instrumental in us handling this person. I wouldn’t have done as well without him along.
Gosh, that was fortuitous! But there's still huge power in a human connection during an acute situation, regardless of skills. I reckon you'd've done just fine. :D
Boy, can I relate to the 'editing as I write' dilemma! It really takes some practice to get the words out there -then- go back and try to figure out where they all fit. Sort of like dumping the jigsaw puzzle out of the box and getting all the pieces situated before putting it together. You'll get it, though.
I think handwriting notes is great and, in some cases, much more convenient than typing everything up.
Great post!
Thanks, Mark! What I like about a handwritten draft is that it contains ALL my unfiltered words so I don’t ever feel anxious that I might have forgotten to download something crucial from my brain’s hard drive. Then at the next stage at least I still have the choice as to which words and stories that I leave in. Filtering as I go means that stuff could just get lost altogether.
It was an interesting exercise to work in that way for once - but I know which way I prefer! Drafting by hand takes longer, but it’s more fun and I’m generally more satisfied with the end result.
Nice reading and fun as usual. When I saw the line about the spoon, I thought I hope she doesn't tell us she picked it up and used it. LOL.
Thanks! Well I wouldn't say it hadn't crossed my mind to salvage it, but I felt that the hiker who'd dropped it might well come back for it!
I gather from metal detectorists I've spoken to that the ground beneath a stile tends to offer rich pickings thanks to change falling out of people's pockets as they climb over them!
it looks like you need to walk with a machete :-\
i shouldn't tell about the most incongruous thing i found beneath a stile. i sat down to take a sip of tea from my thermos and a quick protein bar during an all-day hike along hadrian's wall. after my snack-break, i stood up from the stile to gather my things. to my horror i looked down to discover that i had been sitting beside a fossilized human poo the whole time. afterward, i checked my surroundings thoroughly before choosing another location to rest.
Oh my GOODNESS - how revolting! Still, at least it was fossilised and therefore perhaps more innocuous than a fresh one would have been!
It makes me wonder why people aren't just more considerate. I remember 'Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By' in The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley - and her scary sister 'Mrs Be-Done-By-As-You-Did'. I mean, a reasonable person - you, me, anyone sensible, would probably ask themselves whether THEY would like to be the one to find somebody's poo beneath a stile? NO! They would decide that beneath that stile is not where they will poo!
And now I can't get the impression of you, a protein bar and someone else's poo out of my head! But I'm so glad you shared the story! :D :D :D
My thoughts exactly!!! But, yes, it could have been worse. Had it been fresher there likely would have been a partially digested protein bar beside it 🤢 Every outing is an adventure!