May 20-26, 2011
Well, that ever-pressing question has been looming for months. I have had phone interviews and have even been flown to Wake Forest for a face-to-face interview. The final word on that interview still is without resolution; however, I couldn’t just sit around and wait twiddling my thumbs.
Solution: Get paid to hang out with youth from The Webb School and be outside. Thanks to Laura, that is exactly what we just did.
And so the last 6 days consistent of canoeing, whitewater rafting, and hiking 24 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The days on the water were spent getting to know the kids…well they were seniors in high school. As always, I love to see how others react to a world that I am so comfortable with.
While whitewater rafting the Middle Ocoee River, I saw one student in particular display courage time and time again. She was not scare but TERRIFIED to go whitewater rafting. Having been down the Ocoee a couple of times before, I knew what to expect. Therefore, I made it my mission to make sure that she stayed in the raft. Before we even got in the raft, I had to be strategic. I eyed the guides and picked a raft with an experienced guide. I put her in the back of the raft knowing that those that sit closer to the front are more likely to pop out.
The guide was aware of her fear. As we went down the river, I saw her eyes get bigger and bigger as we hit each rapid. At moments I wished I had a recorder to capture some of her intellectually sassy comments.
The moment of truth came as we went in to try to surf. Like I said, I had done this before so I new what to expect. Before we headed back up stream to catch the hydraulic, my mind flashed back to a similar situation two summers ago when I almost was ejected from a raft during a surf.
As we paddled forward, I looked directly to my left to try and read her expression. Here extreme level of fear was evident, put not paralyzing as her arms continued to paddle– a good sign indeed. I knew my mission. I had carried through thus far. I was determined not to fail.
We caught the surf on our first try. We did our first 180 and then another. After two more turns, internally, I knew it was time for us to exit the surf. Instead the raft was thrown around again. With the back of the raft in the hydraulic and water pouring in, I knew things were not good. With the raft being kicked to and fro, out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the other girls in the raft tumble into the rapid. Immediately, my gaze turned to my left. With eyes as big as saucers, she knew she was loosing the battle and being pulled by the force of the water. My reflex action kicked in as I grabbed her arm and pulled her back in without even thinking.
Finally the guide got us out of the surf. With so much water in the raft, she had trouble getting her feet under her to exert the proper leverage.
The rest of the week presented other challenges as the fellowship journeyed through the hills of North Carolina, but that experience, by far, was the most memorable.
