Living with derision
We all do it! It takes a momentary judgement lapse and your life is in the balance.
A cautionary tale..
My angling friend hurt himself when his line snagged, he pulled, it stretched, snapped and propelled his weight thingy back at him. Lots of blood.
Carp 1: David 0.
He revealed his story to lessen my embarrassment, so I don’t gloat.
Forget angling. There is more than one way to be a fool.
While riding recklessly on a coastal path, County Durham way, I was snagged by a gorse, precipitated from my velo, and had my life saved by a 15 quid helmet – not a scratch on me.
Just a sunburnt nose, but that was my second idiocy.
Mick Jagger finished a track with, ‘Don’t forget, if you are out on your bike at night, wear white.’
Don’t forget, if you are cycling by the sea, it’s not your head that catches the reflected light, but your nose. Ouch!
I’m home and safe now.🐧
So, if I haven’t a scratch, how do I know I would be dead, without the helmet?
I don’t remember coming off. It happened too quickly. I remember the sound of ringing in my ears as my head in a helmet made contact with a hard-baked mud ridge that had prevented my shoulder breaking the fall. That was when I knew.
I saw a bloke, cycling on his MTB, shorts, no shirt despite the wind off the sea, no gloves, helmet, sport spectacles – just shorts. He looked at me with derision and probably ate raw turnip for breakfast.
That’s life. I’m able to live with derision (because I’m alive).
Clive and Eva La Pensée 