I was reflecting back on last week when my wife and I went lazy
rafting in the Weeki Watchee river here in Florida and what a
great day it was.
The river was crystal clear, it was warm out that day, with a
light breeze, and we would see the occasional kayaker or stand up
paddle boarder and everyone was quite friendly as they passed by
and said hello in varying accents, because they were vacationing
from wherever…
I could feel my body relax as I got used to the rhythmic
movements of the boat as it glided along against the light
current of the river. The sun was warming our faces, It was
heaven.
Our friends Justin and Noel are native Floridians and were kind
enough to show us a couple of cool spots on the river that
weren’t well known and turned out to be quite interesting.
Noel, the friggin’ turd burger that he is, thought it’d be funny
to pull a trick on me in one spot that about had me just about
DYIN’!
You see, There was a spot that had an old metal pipe handrail
going from the shore of the river down the incline of the river
bank into the water.
There was a little spot where it was flatter on the other side of
the rail and it was pretty well worn from where people had
obviously sat or stood. I assumed to catch some rays…
The handrail was a no brainer- people needed to get up and down
into and out of the river, it was a steep bank and the water was
shallow- about 3 feet in that spot- but if they slipped they’d
bust their asses. So yeah. Pretty obvious why that’s there…
Noel swam across to this, got up on the bank onto that flat spot
and DOVE HEAD FIRST into the water!!!
I just about SHIT! At that moment while he was in midair at the
apex of his dive this all went through my mind in a heartbeat-
OHSHITOHSITOHSHIT! I am a nurse by trade- was for about 15 years
actually… (retired nurse now) so I KNEW there was no way this
was gonna end well in 3 feet of water- my blood ran cold as I had
visions of CPR, rescue breathing, and spinal precautions racing
through my head….
Noel hit the water-
and vanished….
About 5 seconds later he came back up just laughing his ass
off!!!
Huh? WTF?
The jackass had dove into one spot that was right by the bank and
it was – unbeknownst to me- 15 feet across and was 30 or more
feet deep and perfect for diving! It definitely was NOT a boring
trip!
Then I provided some comic relieve a bit later by deciding to
“help out”…
See, the electric motor on the boat was acting up.
I’m like- no problem it’s a light inflatable boat and the water
is only about to my low chest, so I got it made in the shade,
I’ll just pull the boat…
I’m 6 foot 2 and run about 250 pounds and have lifted weights for
over half of my life- still do- so i thought no problemo-The
three of them plus the boat were much lighter than some of my
lifts and since it’s on water it’ll be even lighter…
Off I hop into the water and grab the front of the boat and start
pulling Jack Lalane style, walking along the river bed- I had my
fishing shoes on so I didn’t have to worry about traction
either… I was feeling pretty bad ass 🙂
Well, I took about five steps and my feet sank about 10 inches
into the soft sand river bed.
There was a distinct “pop” on the inside of my right ankle (oh
crap!) at the same time that water went from my low chest to deep
enough that I was spitting and sputtering water, my eyes were as
wide as dinner plates.
So here I was hanging onto the edge of the boat with one hand and
nothing but one panic stricken eye, and the top of my bald head,
and my left nostril were above the water! I must’ve looked like a
very confused, very panicked albino gorilla trying to come up for
air!
I must’ve looked RIDICULOUS because all I could see and hear in
that moment was the three of them laughing and curled up like a
caterpillar when you scared it. I think they almost wet
themselves!
I took another step that seemed to take forever, but i got my
feet and shoes up and out and onto a bit of hard sand riverbed
under me and came back to a normal and upright position.
The pop turned out to be me busting the inside of my right
fishing shoe.
The only thing that was really damaged was my
pride,,, 🙂
So I decided to stop “helping” and quit while I was ahead… Back
in the boat I went and we just paddled…
Looking back, It was a GREAT day!
I am so grateful for days like that, even including the part
where I made an ass out of myself. Because that is what life
should be about- warm days, cool sight seeing, meeting nice
people, lunch and a show, just chillin with friends and loved
ones.
I am grateful to be part of a business that I just love, one that
provides real value to people, and one which allows me this time
freedom.
I am also grateful to be able to help other people get to their
“dream life” in whatever form that may be to them.
If you really want help- just reach out…
You deserve to succeed!
YOU deserve time freedom with YOUR family!
You do NOT deserve to get sucked in to the BS and get burned by
schemers…
(I can help you stay faaar away from em).
Anyway, I just wanted to share a moment of an amazing, relaxing,
sunny day with you to bring you some hope and motivation for the
future.
Keep your eyes peeled for more of our misadventures here in the
South!
Have a good one!
-Seely Clark
