Parable
Hi Friends,
Last summer, I headed out for a SUP having checked the radar and knowing storm cells were coming out of the Adirondacks around 5:30. It was just after 3:00. Eighty degrees. Stiff south wind. I left my beach at the north end of Shelburne Bay working hard into the headwind with the idea of three miles into it and then a fast, fun surf back. Wind picked up. I paddled harder. Fought to the southern lee down where the rushes hide the heron by the fishing access, had a Gu and water and headed home. Wind fell out. Bay went flat. Low black clouds were building west. Lightning out on the broad lake. I started a hard race tempo and paddled over near the eastern shore of the bay just in case. About a half mile from home the cell jumped over Shelburne Point and blew due west at around 30-40 knots. No way I was going anywhere but downwind and into the shore. There's an abandoned estate right there and I just managed to get the board out of the water and up the bank fighting hard with the gusts. Tucked it behind a crumbling stone wall and crouched beside it as the rain cut loose. Curled into a fetal position while the rain pounded down and the temperature dropped into the sixties. Barefoot in board shorts, I pressed into the wall as the wind carried the rain over my head. Nothing but shivering and waiting. I felt alive and miserable and strong and alone. Waiting. Cold. If it's blowing this hard, it's got to go by soon. Waves of emotion. Lightning and thunder. Then, as quickly as it came, the wind died. Rain continued pelting but I grabbed the board and fought my way home on my knees. Stumbled up the lane with my board on my head. Just as I reached the yard, the rain stopped. Grabbed a towel and then a hot shower, still shaking slightly. Came back downstairs. The sun was peeking out.
"Lie low to the wall"
Affirmative. We got this. Time to feel alive every day.
Hug your people. love love B Mac
P.S. This happened last summer and I had stopped thinking about it until my good buddy Matt sent me a poem a few days ago, just some strong words to hang onto in this turmoil. This is the paragraph I wrote back to him. Thanks buddy. Got your back too. Look for the sun peeking.
