“Nothing to fear other than fear itself”
This is quote from Franklin D Roosvelt of whom Winston Churchill once said “Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne; knowing him was like drinking it” which I think says a lot for both of them.
Another of Churchill’s quotes is”Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others”. The reason I am musing on these is because I appear to have taken up the dangerous sport of “Rollerblading”. So courage and fear are uppermost in my mind right now.
Not exactly sure why I am rollerblading? Maybe it was the fact that getting the bike to the park we use is not easy and taking it in the Metro is a no no. Maybe the fact that Judi and our friends are all “bladers” and I am the odd one out. Maybe the 60% discount at the local Decathlon store also helped.
Whatever the reason here I am trying to stand up in boots which seem to have a mind of their own and want to slide down the path before I am upright. I think I will try and stand up on the grass first which seems to subdue them, ha not so keen to move now are you as they sink into the soft earth.
Standing up is somewhat ungainly for the first time but once vertical it is just a case of locking ankles and knees. Not too bad so far. Ok next thing is to see if I can actually move. Maybe this is how Neil Armstrong felt like on the moon (over 40 years ago wow) lifting big heavy things bolted to his feet. Left, right, left, right, getting the hang of this now.
I am of course well protected with stout helmet, knee, elbow and hand guards (although I passed on the padded shorts you have to draw the line somewhere) so in the event I become horizontal at any point then I should survive with only minor abrasions. Not on the grass though all I am doing now is tiring myself out so need to up the ante. As I clump clump to the verge with growing trepidation I wonder if Judi will reappear soon. As an ice skater she had no problem transitioning to inline skates and whizzed off a while back whilst I was still trying to work out which safety apparatus went on the arms and which on the legs, which is left and which right and which way up they went. They really should label them just to give you a clue.
OK at the edge of the road, let’s put one foot out and see. The boot finding solid ground immediately wants to be off, let’s, go let’s go it is screaming it does not even want to wait for its twin who is still stuck in the soft grass. This is where the memory of falling on the frozen ice comes back to me in vivid color. The feeling of having no control over you movement and the reality of gravity pulling everything loose towards the center of the earth as fast as possible. A bit of frantic arm waving and shifting weight to the grass bound boot keeps me from that invitation to go horizontal. Ok deep breaths it’s fine nothing unexpected just well sort of unnerving.
Smiling broadly Judi returns she has managed to do the 3 mile circuit whilst I have been dithering around. Now if I can get across the road to the river bank I can tootle around there as it has a railing to grab if needed. Slowly slowly we amble across. Keep your weight forward knees soft head up and you will be ok I keep hearing although not sure my brain is actually processing the data. A brief thought enters my head “do toddlers go through this learning to walk” but of course their bones are softer and they are more used to falling over. I have learnt over time that it is to be avoided at all costs.
Now by the railing I allow Babe to skoot off again as I roll up and down the promenade. Not bad, getting the hang of this. I can travel 10, 20 meters without having to lunge for the railings. Avoiding the railings might actually be a good thing given the deteriorating state of some of them. I don’t want to become a drowning statistic and given the lead weights I appear to have strapped onto my feet if I do go over there is no chance of rescue. Walker’s tourists and pushchairs serve to help me learn how to move left and right although it is sometimes erratic I am still upright.
I might even say I am enjoying it. It requires far less energy than cycling you just sort of lean one way and then the other. An hour or so later Judi who has not completed 5 or 6 circuits decides we have had enough. No argument from me then although getting down on the ground to remove the shackles from my feet is actually harder than getting upright in the first place.
So was it courage driving me to do this or something else?
My mother used to tell me you should learn something new every day (although not sure she meant this). I think you do need to challenge yourself occasionally to try something new, you never know it might be fun. It might be a little scary but you could say that about most things when you do them for the first time whether it is your first Indian curry or visiting a new place or even rollerblading.
Experiences add color to your life and you never forget that “First time”.