by Tetge » Wed Nov 14, 2018 9:17 am
As with many slips, close calls, trips, and stumbles, and falls, I got careless. In fact, thus far, it has always been carelessness that inflicted damages on me, since in every case, were I to have exercised discretion, I would have avoided any issues. This is because I know full well that I am not as agile as I once was, and, my balance is not as good as well, and I can't see as well either. So, prudence calls for a more deliberate approach to even simple things like walking.
In the case of the fall at the dam, I was sitting on the curb and I asked my brother, who is a large individual, to give me a hand up, as I see the NBA players doing all the time. This was a fine idea, but, somehow, my grip failed just before I was standing, and I crashed back onto the ground and curb, as this was preferable to impaling myself on Brakelate's KTM, which was right there in the way. No extreme damage was done, other than giving me a sore spot on my hip, which has gone away, but, it was a tad embarrassing and also, my brother felt as if it were his fault. But, in fact, it was all on me as I was once again betrayed by my nerve damaged right hand, which sometimes acts on its own and loses grip. And, since the curb was quite low, I also should have remembered how difficult it is these days for me to get up off the ground without anything to use as support.
So, as Juan noted, discretion is indeed a wise policy, but, the catch is that one has to have a sense of when discretion is indicated, and, further, one needs to be able to understand and apply appropriate discretion at the appropriate time. I fear that this is a daunting task for some people, as to some extent, ignoring discretion has defined their lives, both in terms of success and failure. Sort of comes down to can a tiger change its stripes, and, also, to the value of life. Because, when the going gets rough, old instincts often kick in automatically and without thought. And, this includes indulging impulses, such as, one little ride about can't hurt, so, I'lll just jump on the scrambler and go for it before I give it any conscious thought, and, before Terri, can save me...... Yes, the impulse devil still lurks, whispering in the ears, calling for action, craving a rush, longing for risk, and denying on an instinctive level any dangers that discretion might reveal, were discretion to be a consideration.
I know about this, because, the voices are whispering the words i my ears as I type. Now, where is that chain saw? I need to climb a tall extension ladder and do some tree trimming because, what could possibly go wrong with that?
One of my current resolutions is to stop falling. From a 'full stand' (is that a phrase?), on the Mexican terrain it HURTS. 
Crank that chainsaw!!!