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Posted by derrick on
May 9, 2008
Found out this morning
There’s a circus coming to town
They drive in Cadillacs
Using walkie-talkies, and the Secret Service
- talking heads
This week I had my first two sea kayaking classes of the new season and both of course had their own personalities. The first was loose and laid back. We covered a lot of the points I wanted to cover and yet, driving home I could pinpoint bits and pieces that I wanted to do differently or that I felt I overlooked.
Posted by derrick on
May 5, 2008
Excuse me while I light my spliff
Good god, I gotta take a lift
From reality I just cant drift
Thats why I am staying with this riff
Somedays you just stop whatever you’re doing and load up the kayak and head to the nearest bit of water you can find.
Well, that’s the FIRST thing you do. . .
Posted by derrick on
April 21, 2008
Open your eyes
Push yourself inside
Contemplate all of your senses
Tell them what you want to lose
- 30 seconds to mars
Of course there’s no need to lecture. I’d be preaching to the choir. No, I’ll just go for sharing the experience. The last couple years I’ve noticed that I’m starting to feel like the oldest geezer on the hills. It seems to me that the Vertical Limit for people over 40 is about 200 feet.
Here in my little part of the planet the big hills stand about 500 feet over the lake. Still, Devil’s lake State Park is the premier climbing destination in the Midwest. For climbers it’s not the vertical height that matters, but the difficulty of the ascents. The red quartzite cliffs in the park certainly provide variety and an occasional challenge. Each weekend every cliff and every nook seems to have bodies hanging from or ascending them all.
Posted by derrick on
April 20, 2008
Yesterday we paddled down the river.
Ducks crossed in front or swam alongside the boats.
They always think they are going to outrun you.
When they realize you are gaining on them, they take off or turn to the bank.
We played in eddys and practiced ferrying.
We talked edges, angles and strokes.
Our kayaks raced down a wave train.
Bows buried.
Hair got wet.
The river widened.
Canada geese blasted alarms whenever they saw the kayaks come near.
They would shout at us until we passed by.
Geese on the river are like hecklers at a ballet.
The river spit.
We battled the current upstream through a narrow funnel.
We dug and dug, advanced, then maintained, then slipped.
The current won.
Posted by derrick on
April 16, 2008
With tightly packed isobars predicting a good wind and the ice just two days off the local lake, it was certainly time for a paddle.
Launching on small lakes when the wind is howling is a trick in of itself. The big water concept of timing your launch goes right out the window. On a little lake it’s “1-wave-2-wave-3-wave”. Of course if you can launch in a second great, otherwise you try to find something to hide behind, at least long enough that you can get your skirt on.
Posted by derrick on
April 9, 2008
I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll,
No longer riding on the merry-go-round,
I just had to let it go
- lennon
There has always been a standing rule in business that says, “If you’re not growing your dying.” If you don’t follow that rule you’re often thought of as being a bit thick. Maybe. I’ve never bought into that idea. I look at it like blowing up a balloon. You can only grow so much, then eventually you either pop or slowly lose air. An individual hungry to grow his business will reach out like an octopus to build up his market. Success is marked by buildings, investments, share holders, ad budgets, employee rolls and all that other stuff that comes with growth. In the end that individual risks becoming a cog in his own wheel. Thing is, never ending growth like life, is unsustainable. Never ending growth is also not a goal, just a moving target.
Posted by derrick on
April 8, 2008
Nothing like a little mid-day post! The morning started out a bit crazy as I had an 8am client meeting which of course means getting organized for that at the same time you’re trying to get a kid off to school. Crazy times! While dusting around my office I was just taking in all the kayak stuff that seems to fill every corner, shelf and floor space. Truth be told I tend to collect trinkets anyway. Please someone tell me I’m not the only one with a room full of kayak clutter!!!
