09/14/2009 2:00 am
Culture
My Midlife Fantasy, by Elisabeth Hyde
A novelist considers the career she almost had.
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15 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment
Elisabeth — Ten days on a raft in the Grand Canyon when I was young and the sport was in its infancy, I too got "hooked". BUT hooked on adventure travel, but definitely not on being a guide. I absolutely love being with people, but when people you have never seen before hire you, you are meeting all kinds. Many trips since, the guides have to put up with accidents, terrible injuries, complaints that come in every shape or size, and - as you implied - some very strenuous work that requires smiling and great spirits while lifting all sorts of heavy equipment that will definitely affect the condition of your back later in life.
I too have had dreams . . . but the "bad apple" in the lot of companions tells me that there are better ways to have a good time. But the memories of the Canyon, the close calls, the snakes, the feeling of waking in the morning knowing that the red canyon walls were my bedroom walls was unbeatable — and still with me years later. That journey on a raft was the beginning of spending as much of my life in the remote corners of the world, "seeing it all", and it all began with "10 days on a raft in the Grand Canyon". How can I forget that?
Oh Joan, it was great tennis; and don’t ask me why I am just sick over the result. Roger is my hero from way back being that he is Swiss and all that. My affection for anything connected with Switzerland is very strong having spent a lot of time there working and living. Del Potro will be around for a long time I think. He is terribly good at it and, thankfully, he appears to be a very good natured fellow. (and at the moment it doesn’t hurt to see people with nice natures in the game)???
Lauriate … you never stop to amaze me. You were fortunate enough to live in the only place I would want to live in in Europe, you lucky man. I took like Roger - a real gentleman - but he will have other victories — and there is something about showing that hard word and belief in yourself at a young age has paid off. I so believe that if you give your all, but also in your eyes have that barely hidden belief in yourself that great things can happen.
As for Switzerland, the scenery is like a story book. Had I lived there, I know I would have been out and in the mountains more often than not. For me it was a place to soar, to soak up grandeur of nature, people who smiled at me though I could not speak the language, and it was so clean. New Zealand - at least of old - was a close second. I could easily live there on the South Island. It touched me in much the same way. Tell me how long you lived there and in what city? I have a feeling that you have had quite a cosmopolitan life, not letting any grass grow under your feet. I like that.
What a wonderful story!
Yours is a passion I have never understood but wished I shared. I saw an ocean for the first time a mere 6 years ago. I live near Lake Michigan and a river, so I have been near water, but never on or in it. Whenever I hear people speak of boating or rafting it always sounds so tranquil and serene. And the thought of gliding through a winding river surrounded by mountains….well, could it get any better.
Thanks for sharing your midlife fantasy with us Elisabeth. I too have mine which I know will always be a fantasy and nothing more. But in a weird and twisted manner, sometimes they are better kept in our minds. We can tweak and manipulate them into whatever we want them to be.