Thursday, April 15, 2010

Flying, Worriers and Orcas

The Blue Angels are in town.  They have been buzzing the city most of the morning, getting ready for their performance over the Harbor on Saturday and Sunday.  I have to admit that I find their aerobatics strapped inside a big ass thundering jet pretty amazing.  Would I want to do that? No way.  Would I want to go for a ride upside down, through barrel rolls, and loop-de-loops?  No way. 

I think that these men (aren't the Blue Angels all men?) must have some extra adrenalin that they need to drain off.  I guess that I'm an "earthbound misfit"  because I don't want to fly planes, jump out of planes, or jump off cliffs with a bungee cord strapped to my body. 


I have a friend who likes to do aerobatic flying.  He asks me to go on occasion saying "Don't you want to live?".  To which I have to say with a vigorous shake of my head,  "Yes indeed I do want to live which is precisely why I don't want to fly upside down, and have heart-stopping G forces clear the plaque from my arteries."  I may actually still be living because I haven't put myself into an array of situations in which I might actually die. Well, except for the deep submersible dives, the jumping of fences with my horse, and driving my car in this town. 

Sadly, I remember that a few of the Blue Angels crashed a number of years ago.  That just about ruined my day. I mean, here they are soaring like...well, angels and then "Kaboom".  End of story. The big finale.  Today as they roared over the building where I work,  I was hoping that the God of my understanding was right there with them because I certainly had a feeling of powerlessness as they roared past. 

I do like a sense of adventure with the emphasis on "sense".  I am not a particularly uber-cautious person.  I'm not overly nervous.  I can't think of too many mainstream things that bother me.  I do know a few people who admit to being afraid of just about everything.  One friend, who is a good guy,  is a real nervous type who bought a home in upstate New York in order to avoid hurricane season.  He still has his house along the coast but suffers from some kind of traumatic stress when the forecasters start talking in February about there being a more active hurricane season this year.  He is hightailing it out of Dodge like a bunny with its tail on fire.

The problem with people who worry about every little thing is that they have to only hear of one rare incident to justify their worrying.  Regardless that there may be a 1 in 5 million occurrence, they know this could actually happen to them. Like the Orca event at Sea World, some people will ask me if I worry about going out on the water and being pulled overboard by a killer whale.  Really...I'm serious here.  I can tell them that Orcas don't live here and not one has been sighted anywhere near where I live.  I can provide them with maps of distribution and various graphs containing statistical data, but it won't make a difference.  I also explain that I don't have a ponytail (anymore). The moment they find one measly article in the newspaper about an Orca attack, they cut it out and send it to C. to read.  It's as if they want to warn her for hanging out with such a reckless person who decides to sleep out on the water because they know that we'll be the next "statistic" to be reported as being consumed by a killer whale.

I'm just glad that my Higher Power goes along for the ride just as He is riding with the Blue Angels today.  

20 comments:

  1. Re last paragraph of this blog: ME TOO!

    Love and Hugs,
    Anonymous #1

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  2. This post made me smile at a few of my "fears". We live in Florida and have a boat - and after Steve Irwin passed away, every time we'd have the boat out I started worrying about stingrays leaping into the boat!
    Another time I was at a huge event with tons of people and there was an airshow... well, one of the planes did the nosedive thing, and I literally JUMPED on the guys next to me, I though we were goners that the plane was really crashing on us...
    Hope this gave you some laughs. Appreciated the post, b/c once again I am reminded that fear has no place with a Higher Power in my life.
    God bless.

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  3. Oh my gosh Syd, this was the most fun reading I've had all day. When I was in the US Army I was chosen to go to jump school. Made the flight down to the Carolina's, got all my gear issued to me and then went to the physical... I WAS STOKED TO JUMP OUT OF PLANE... however, the military doctors that be said I had flat feet and couldn't do it with US Army. To this day It is the one thing I wanted to do and couldn't. Whales... too funny. I lived off the coast of maine for a good part of my life so seeing oceanic life is nothing new. But, bring a tornado within a mile of my home here in the midwest and well, the ole have on clean undies doesn't matter to me. YIKES... Hugs. Tammy

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  4. I think for me worry only helps me fill up my world with fear and me in my fear based world = unhappy living.

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  5. Good post! When I was little and saw "Jaws" I was freaked out all summer long. I never wanted to swim in the lake until someone told me that Sharks are in salt water, not Lake Superior. The closest thing I've come to for fun in the sky is flying in a Piper Cub with all the windows open. I felt like the Red Baron. It's the only way to skim the landscape and be one with the air. But I was 17 when I did this and I'm sure that had a lot to do with it! :)

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  6. Great posting,I like the new look.Sorry that I have not been for a visit in a while.The USAF Thunderbirds are a great show to see as well.here at The Cleveland Air Show they both rotate which group appears.every other year we can count on the Thunderbirds and The Blue Angels.

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  7. I'm glad too that my higher power always comes along for the ride with me..takes the edge of worry off.

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  8. And you know- if you did die by Orca attack (right), would that be so bad? Better than a long, drawn-out painful death by cancer, right?
    That's how I feel about it, anyway.

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  9. Everyone gets excited when the Blue Angels are in town, no matter which town it is. It is such fun to watch the in air precision. You do more than I would do, submersible dives and jumping fences with the horse. But the car driving I could do. You bring up the fact that we can't live in fear even when there is an incident. Letting go of the fear and living life to the fullest is part of the reason why we want to get healthy, isn't it?

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  10. No doubt Syd, it's amazing when we begin in recovery how we have so many fears and some of them are very strange indeed. Thank you for the smile and the laugh...and the reminder.

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  11. About 37 years ago when my son was 2 years old we were living in Washington, D.C., the Blue Angels performed on a beautiful, sunny weekend afternoon. Hubby, son, and I were there and I will never forget that while we watched in awe and amazement, one of the planes crashed. It was traumatic. I don't think I would be able to watch them perform again.

    PG

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  12. love the new blog layout, it has been a while since i stopped by.
    i do have a sense of adventure and a bucket list and if i get terminal cancer i will start working on my bucket list. see it is one of those bungee jumping death defying lists and i have little children and i want to be a grandma someday and i want to live to a ripe old age of older than i am now!!

    and did you see that explosion in the sky!! that was no meteor shower!! it scared the hell out of me and i am a bit skiddish right now.

    CNN is covering this thing that flew across the sky tonight and looked like it exploded, but it was out in space!!

    all i know is if the world is going to end, i am right where i want to be, with my beautiful family.

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  13. I have found it is futile to try to convince someone that their fear is unreasonable.... Just like when people quote stats at me about flying. I don't care, I just don't want to be one of those statistics.

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  14. Syd,
    I like to live one step back from the edge, myself.

    I'd be more worried about sharks than orcas. Jaws scarred me for life. I won't swim in the ocean anymore. Not for love or money.

    Have a great weekend!

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  15. You've changed your blog layout! Very attractive.

    In sobriety I tend to belong with the 'Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway!' crowd.

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  16. aren't you worried about Jaws? (teehee)

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  17. I'm with you, Syd. I really need to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground...but I do admit to having my head in the clouds A LOT !!

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  18. I've lived on all sides of this fence. I've been a thrill seeker, have had irrational fears, and scoffed at those who had irrational fears.

    A big part of the recovery deal for me is to do all that I do with a mindfulness that keeps me closer to who my higher power would have me be with proper motivations and perspectives.

    Blessings and aloha...

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