NO Stopping, No Regrets

My author’s bio says that I pursue sports “that have the potential to maim me.” Unfortunately, that statement was, and will continue to be, prophetic. Last week, in wind-blasted conditions, on a steep, scoured slope at the top of Squaw Valley Ski Resort, I snapped my left fibula.

The break is the result of a fall in soft snow when the ski binding didn’t release. Bindings need impact to release properly. No impact, bury the ski, and twist (almost 180 degrees in my case), and bad things, okay yeah maiming, happens. I’m now wearing the pictured boot/cast ­— four weeks in this fine footwear.

This is the price I sometimes pay for the dangerous sports I choose to pursue. I’ve anted up a few times…plate in my arm, artificial hip, surgery on my foot, hernia, torn Achilles tendon…you get the idea. My fellow crazies’ bodies also feature scars and replacement parts.

My more sedentary friends try to understand, but remain perplexed. The pain/pleasure ratio just doesn’t compute for them. They ask: “Shouldn’t you slow down now? Step back a notch?”

Life isn’t about stepping back, ever. We push at work, in our creative pursuits, in our lives. Nothing happens without drive and determination. And where’s the thrill in taking the beaten path?

So, no, no stepping back. No stopping.

Look for me where the mountains glisten, the wind howls, and the waves pound. I’m healing; I’m rebuilding. And soon I’ll be throwing myself into a powder chute, a wave or a rugged mountain bike trail. I always push to the edges. Join me, follow my adventures or … watch from a safe distance.