Recently, I have been sorting out things I've done Once and am not likely to repeat. None of the things are epic or awe-inspiring, nothing at the level of, say, the Once and future U.S. president who famously had a dinner date with a porn star. No, they are things any ordinary Joe might do or have happen to him. And most have some hint things might've gone terribly wrong. Hence I willingly consign them to the Department of Best Once.
The first Once is driving nonstop for 16 hours the 963 miles from Santa Monica CA to Portland OR. I clearly had lost judgment at some point around the Oregon-California border, euphorically thinking as I looked into dark, "The way I'm going I could continue up to the Arctic Circle."
A related driving Once would be doing the ton-up (driving 100+ mph) on a Central Oregon two-lane highway. Though for a duration less than a minute, the thought hit me--and more so with my older self--What could go wrong? (Oh, just ask James Dean.)
But another Once took me out of a bad place. As I wrote here, I survived an instantaneous rear-tire blowout on my Honda motorcycle at 65 mph, the freeway west of Escondido CA. Calmness, even awe, in the moment. A god's voice told me what to do.
My personal computer experience goes back to the 80s, but a Once I won't repeat was replacing the hard drive in my laptop with its shoehorned assembly. The HD swap-out was open heart surgery: Marathon patience + flawless hand-eye coordination.
On foot with outstretched thumbs, a Dutch pal and I hitchhiked from Claremont CA to San Jose CA in one day, a Once of 368 miles. We had hand-lettered signs, and things broke our way when a surfer picked us up and took us the rest of the way from Malibu. All he asked for was our hitchhiker signs--collected them, he said--and a few bucks for gas. The odds of that good fortune again?
Another travel Once was a weeklong bicycle trip of northwest Oregon that covered 300+ miles. But would I again put myself where my bike hugged the shoulder coming down a mountain two-lane blacktop road with logging trucks going by, was it even eight feet away?
Last, the Once I'd repeat was offshore at Cannon Beach. I had paddled out on my surfboard, only to see an eightish-year-old girl beyond the breaking waves, apparently swept out by currents. I paddled her way. She grabbed my board, some panic in her face. I took us in to shore. Her father yelled, Why did you go out there? He failed to thank me. Didn't matter; I was pleased enough with myself.
Image credit: surfline.com
Read Charlie Dickinson's story collection The Cat at Light's End, as an ebook in these downloadable formats:
.mobi (Kindle)
.epub (most other readers)
.pdf (for PCs)
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