“There are no wrong ways, only long ways,” announced Fancy Fred as we exited the woods to the bluff overlooking Puget Sound, a bit of poetry that many of those within earshot found remarkable enough to remark upon it.
Nevertheless, it occasioned another 180 degree turn, one of several undertaken during the course of the evening, each of which transformed a way that, while not wronger than another, would have been longer than the other eventually pursued.
Which just goes to show that perseverance pays off in many ways, and not just for the most obvious example of fire-building.
It warmed the cockles of my heart (not as did the fire itself, the heart of my cockles, you sickos!) to see that after a failed attempt to ignite damp brush with the new improved technology, actual Eagle Scouts at hand were willing to tear the whole thing apart and do it over the right way, with twigs, moss, and human huffing and puffing.
Less committed souls might have just given up and been forced to stand around the in the cold, but fortunately, there are those among us who have that quality which the Angry Hippy said he believes is sorely lacking among most of the population these days: gumption—that old-fashioned stick-to-it-ivness that made this country great, or at least, for example, enabled one-time bike mechanics like Orville and Wilbur Wright to persevere in the workshop until they figured out how to get their heavier-than-air craft aloft.
It’s the same gumption that keeps riders plunging forward into the underbrush even on a tandem with inadequate lighting or which ensures that all the bottles of everything will be finished before departure or that eleven-plus years into this nonsense, the nonsense carries on, still finding improvements: like doing the bulk of the off-road before the fire so that nearly everyone enjoys the promised trails.
“There are no wrong ways, only long ways;” clearly, the longer and wronger, the better.
Nevertheless, it occasioned another 180 degree turn, one of several undertaken during the course of the evening, each of which transformed a way that, while not wronger than another, would have been longer than the other eventually pursued.
Which just goes to show that perseverance pays off in many ways, and not just for the most obvious example of fire-building.
It warmed the cockles of my heart (not as did the fire itself, the heart of my cockles, you sickos!) to see that after a failed attempt to ignite damp brush with the new improved technology, actual Eagle Scouts at hand were willing to tear the whole thing apart and do it over the right way, with twigs, moss, and human huffing and puffing.
Less committed souls might have just given up and been forced to stand around the in the cold, but fortunately, there are those among us who have that quality which the Angry Hippy said he believes is sorely lacking among most of the population these days: gumption—that old-fashioned stick-to-it-ivness that made this country great, or at least, for example, enabled one-time bike mechanics like Orville and Wilbur Wright to persevere in the workshop until they figured out how to get their heavier-than-air craft aloft.
It’s the same gumption that keeps riders plunging forward into the underbrush even on a tandem with inadequate lighting or which ensures that all the bottles of everything will be finished before departure or that eleven-plus years into this nonsense, the nonsense carries on, still finding improvements: like doing the bulk of the off-road before the fire so that nearly everyone enjoys the promised trails.
“There are no wrong ways, only long ways;” clearly, the longer and wronger, the better.
No comments:
Post a Comment