Reply #14: Some years ago [View All]

[Karenina]

I walked across a glacier in the Swiss neighborhood of Verbier. I'm ALLERGIC to sunlight (thanks to that "harmless" Ortho Novum pill and had slathered on an aluminum-based white cream to protect my skin). CL and I hiked 2 hours and met not another human soul. We did see an SUV w-a-a-ay below on the valley that would have made a great commercial.

That day I REALLY LEARNED about RESPECT for Mother Nature (as if I hadn't already learned that in my childhood). You respect her or you're DEAD. We scrambled over a narrow pass at one summit, I nearly lost my footing and needed a good half hour to recover. Then we got to the glacier. CL insisted we walk across; I, still rattled by my close call, thought we should NOT and just say we did. He won that argument. I'm happy, in retrospect, as what I experienced is now lost to current generations. Large stones had burned holes in the glacier, Some were large enough to fall into. I dropped a stone and heard the splash 30 seconds later. We were within 10 meters of the other side when I looked into the sky and saw the thunderheads. I recognized them from my childhood and told CL, "We're OUTTA HERE NOW!" We were safely down the trail when the rain started and took shelter in a cave when the skies dumped their load.

All I can say is, "Don't FUCK with Mother Nature. It's HER game."