Walking. All Self-Doubt….Gone.

Posted on by Live & Learn

Let’s make it 1,474 consecutive (almost) days on this Cove Island Park walk this morning. Like in a row.

For those of you who have followed this blog (and by some miracle of all miracles, you are still here) — and you’ve labored through the journeys in self-doubt, sugar consumption, electronic gadget addiction, and a pile of other habitual derailments, I feel that I had achieved an important milestone this morning. Like BIG.

And I walk.

It’s a beautiful morning. From twilight to sunrise, a magnificent morning. (You can see my shots here.)

I’m rounding the final turn and I see Cara (a Cove Island Park runner). She’s down along the shoreline. She sees me and calls out:

CD: “How much do you think it weighs?”
DK: “75 to 100 lbs wet would be my guess.”
CD: “Want to help me move it out of the way?” (To get unblemished shots for her Instagram posts.)
DK: “No.”
CD: “No?”
DK: (I pause before responding and replace “absolutely not” with a curt reply.) “No.”
CD: Really?
DK: (I stand. She gives up.)

She begins tip-toeing between the rocks, most covered in algae, and treacherous.

Some (most?) men would assist, but not me. I respect a Women’s independence. If she were to fall, or her life was placed in danger, I’d go salvage what was left of her and drag her to shore. God Save the Queen and all that.

I watch her struggle, and think…

  • Comparatively speaking, I make so many better decisions.
  • It has to be generational differences. We ask: Why? Does this make sense? What are the risks in undertaking this venture?
  • As a human being of average intelligence, I understand that by simply moving a few feet right or left, I can get a clean photo without performing beach-combing activities. Where’s the common sense?
  • I find I’m reasonably resourceful. If my spouse was a Senior leader (like Cara’s) at the City of Stamford, I might have asked him if he could kindly ask one of Park’s crew members to drag away the fallen timber.
  • While I’m an acknowledged Agnostic, I know better than to use any curse word associated with Him (or Her), as I may need God later. (For full disclosure, I clipped the video to remove the inflammatory curse words directed at me. Volume up on Video.)
  • I’ve come to appreciate that I have comparatively much more discipline and don’t let Social Media own me and drag me around by my nose like these youngsters.
  • Those that don’t believe older isn’t wiser, should have watched this morning’s performance. After all that effort, the timber is still largely sitting in same sight line as it was before Cara’s salvaging activities.

I watch an exasperated Cara attempting to brush the gooey algae from her clothes. The moment reminded me of a passage by Amy Krouse Rosenthal:

MY GENERAL STATE OF MIND AS IT PERTAINS TO WANTING IS I have enough, I’m good. I have enough, but I’d like just a wee bit more. I do not have enough. Actually, I have more than enough and could probably do with less.

Cara’s still working that persistent algae stain on her favorite running top — and I think, comparatively, yes, Actually, I have more than enough and I could probably do with less.

P.S. Note to Cara: Let’s see the before-and-after Photo post your timber salvaging activities.

82 thoughts on “Walking. All Self-Doubt….Gone.”

          3. What is mostly mean? What would you take out of the equation? I know is not the deers running across the freeway, I almost killed myself one night trying to not hit it. they run out of nowhere and the freeway I was on was so dark. I’m sure you now it well. I travelled from NY.

          4. It can be expensive in parts of Connecticut but affordable in others with longer commute. While it is colder here than in TX, I’m not sure I could live without the seasons, and we don’t have the hurricanes, tornadoes and floods that TX is having today. And I’m hoping that we will never have a water shortage. So I agree, there is a lot of GREAT in TX, I’m not sure I would trade positions today.

          5. I here you, I could go on and on about about what I could live without, I would love to live where you see the actual season change the beautiful colors of the leaves but I was born in Texas and will die here unless move to a completely safe far away island. 🙂

  6. Cara, I’m sure this wasn’t David’s intention when his best judgment told him to post this.
    But I AM IN LOVE with this, and you.

    Next time you’re behind him, don’t waste memory taking a photo.
    Just kick him.

      1. This blogging community is.
        I will just say you will start looking behind you everywhere you go now.

          1. You have a skill I haven’t seen in any other human being, dk. The way you expose the beauty, uniqueness, strengths, cares, and priorities of others in what seems like an attack or a rant. I love you for this, and love Cara even more. You are your own school of expression, dk.

          4. Intellectual is not a term my closest friends with associate with me. And as to Sawsan, I’m confident she would shudder at doppelgänger associated with her and me in the same sentence.

          5. I think she would delight in knowing that little gets passed her, and she knows how to push your buttons (lovingly). And forget this crap that you are not intellectual – you read far too much and observe far far more than most, and as such you may not cop to being non-intellectual. Yes this was a bit circuitous, but you got the drift.

          8. Laughing…
            I fantasize about tranquilizer dart somedays. With Cara here, I’m on break. I’m just watching and I try to save his a$$.

  8. Let me start by saying something that no one here will appreciate, but on the off chance that anyone in my family sees this….I will share. Despite my best efforts…. I have aged, and ended up looking exactly like my mother. Fittingly, she is the reason I go to Cove each morning since her passing in 2019.

    Let me address a few things so that this intelligent audience can have a more clear view of this morning.

    1. I am not “just a runner at Cove”. Since 2019…about 6 months before DK decided to venture from the safety of his home to Cove Island Park…. I have taken photos of the sunrise and shared them (you can check out MY morning photos on instagram @carad1016)

    2. DK was right about one thing today…. and that was his estimate of the weight of the branch. 75 pounds was probably an accurate estimate. The front of the branch was also lodged in muck, making it impossible to move without a second person. Hence my request.

    3. DK is not built for physical labor. This is evident by his (in no particular order) age, build, gait, shaky hands and overall amount of time he spends outside. He probably sees about 15 minutes of daylight a day. I wasn’t confident he could help me even if he tried.

    4. I find it hilarious that he feels the need to compare himself to me or “my generation”. Stay in your lane David. I’m on a different course, one that you can’t handle.

    5. To that point, the obsession with age is something you might want to reflect on. No one cares how old you are…… except you. Clearly, as your blog posts are cascading with mentions to it.

    6. “Comparatively don’t let social media own me”….coming from the man who has mentioned the number of “likes” on his page at least a dozen times this week. I had to laugh at this statement.

    7. I stand by my efforts to remove the branch. I see jobs through, with or without help. Woman of action that I am. Stay tuned.

    8. “and by some miracle of all miracles, you are still here“…. good point here DK. With this random nonsense you share from your morning adventures (light stroll) …. it is a wonder you still have an audience.

    However, for those few people still listening, I want them to know a couple things. You are in fact a “good guy”. You do in fact “help others”. You actually do have a “beating heart”. Case in point….Seeing my disappointment, you gave me tips on getting the algae stains out of the shirt (Susan must’ve trained you well).

    I will end with this, so your ego can stay in tact….”Behind every great man is a great woman”….. who is about to pass him. Might want to move to the right or left DK. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.

  10. I’m having a hard time with your refusal to help Cara – after all, she is part of the Cove contingent, and dare I say, you too seek the perfect shot. And as I nod in agreement with your personal assessment – that you may want a little bit more, while acknowledging that you have more than enough – you quickly rationalized all the reasons that justified your intractable’no’. You could have helped your fellow Cove member – just sayin…🥴

    3. Thank you Mimi; so I don‘t have to say the same…. I‘m quite disappointed at your (Dave‘s) refusal to help. What the heck?

      1. Kiki. My Dear Friend. If I agreed to assist Cara with ALL of her hare brained schemes, I’d have no time for the rest of my life. I suggested to her that this was a poor idea, but off she went. At what point do we let our little ducklings learn from their own mistakes?

  11. Actually I would have responded similarly if Cara was Carl – offering a helping hand crosses genders..especially for a fellow photographer 😇

          3. Two dogs – one with an upset stomach who lost it on our bed. I’m doing laundry – something Andy swears he has no idea how to work.

  13. .”Behind every great man is a great woman” thank you, Cara. Women rule. Ask Mother Mary. Sorry, DK. You’re agnostic. I don’t think you’ll understand.

  14. It takes one to know one, Mimi. You’re a uniquely intellectual woman as well. Cara is up there too.
    As to doppelganger associated with you, dk. It is an honor. You’re a category of your own and to even come close is high praise I’ll accept.

  15. Geesh, step away from my computer for just a few hours and all hell (but not that damn branch) breaks loose! DK, you really should have put a shoulder into helping Cara…as Mimi so rightly notes, you are always in search of the perfect shot…why shouldn’t she be? You did, however, demonstrate your uncanny ability to incite….😂

    Cara, thank you for keeping our man Dave on his toes. He hates to admit it, but we women keep him sharp.💪😉

    1. Thank you Lori. All I was trying to do was “edit” my photos the real way and actually move things out of frame. Not with editing software. I should have known he wouldn’t help…. but people surprise you all the time right? Well. Not this day. DK was…. as advertised.

        1. Not sure what you mean about my “jacked up” black and whites that you requested…..

    2. Lori. My Dear Lori. You, of all people, among the top of all of my intelligent followers, getting sucked into this vortex. Didn’t expect you to jump on the Girl Band Wagon with the rest of the lemmings. As I asked Kiki, when do we let our younguns leave the nest and learn from their mistakes. I just don’t have time as they say “to walk behind the elephant” (aka Cara, with no disrespect to elephants) with a shovel to pick up what she drops behind. Here’s for self development. Here’s for personal accountability. And for all you Girl-Band Wagon jumpers, I’m gender neutral!

      1. Careful DK. Careful. Did you mean “youngins” or “youn-guns”? Because I will 💪 if that is a request. Lmk. I’m here for that challenge too.

  18. Reading all these comments makes me smile… For me there is only one point, Dear David should have helped her. I can’t find or think any reason for his “No”… Made me disappointed? On the other hand, this situation become something to talk more… If it would be a poll about this, I can see more of them supporting to help Cara… Women always right, proven by our life experiences… Really I don’t think that David really refused to help… Think of this. Anyway It was as always amazing post. Thank you for all of you, you are great, Love, nia

  19. By the way the video is beautiful, there are birds too. What a amazing place… I am glad to meet Cara, I am going to see her photographs, I hope I can. Thank you, Love, nia

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