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Tuesday 1 July 2014

WordPress Daily Prompt: Back of the Queue

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do, but never got around to starting (an activity, a hobby, or anything else, really)? Tell us about it — and tell us about what’s keeping you from doing it.



River Aare towards East, Solothurn


There are lots of things I have always wanted to do, but most are illegal and I might have problems with the police. WordPress does say “or anything else, really” as if that word “really” was added as an afterthought in case we go too far with our wishes.

As far an activity is concerned, I am not active at the best of times and since becoming a golden oldie active is only in the mind, but not in the action. I live near a river,: River Aar. Our village is on the left just before the river bends in the photos. You can swim in this river, it is quite clean, although I would not actually suggest having a glass daily, but we have no dead floating fish, and the swans and ducks are quite happy.  They even give birth to ducklings and mini swans. I have a relation and a few friends that find it super in summer to dive in from the bank and swim. There are even people that swim to Bern along this river, which is quite a distance, but they paddle away as if it was something completely normal. The advantage of this if that it is free, nothing to pay. Of course I would be proud to tell everyone “I took a swim to Bern last Saturday” but this has never happened. I can swim. If a dog jumps into a river, it swims no problem. My swimming efforts are very similar. I like to have the river bed near my feet, I do not like submerging my head in the water and diving does not come into the question, so strike that one from the list. My hands resemble two dog paws when I am moving.

I always have a hobby, but usually the passive kind, nothing involving death defying feats of the spectacular. I like to take it easy: once a week with a collection of golden oldies in a Tai Chi class. I think this is more to show I am still alive, can move, and you do not feel so alone when surrounded by others with the same body problems as you have. We have had many lively discussions concerning our back pains, movability of the limbs, and balance concerns. Yes, we are one happy bunch of mutual sufferers. I love it when we have an exercise balancing on one leg and making a kick into the bargain. There are even some of us that can do this. I look with admiration and wonder how they manage this. I cannot. It is one of those exercises where others kick with the leg and I just stretch is carefully in the same direction. “There is no hurry in Tai Chi” says our smug Chinese instructor on the DVD, “just do what you can” says our teacher. It all sounds so easy, but I persevere. One of the advantages of always wanting to do something, but not being able to do it, is that you always have hope that one day it might happen.

I would love to be able to ride a bike, I mean one with two wheels. Any fool can ride a bicycle with three wheels, but two wheels: that is a challenge. This is also something that will remain a challenge all my life. I dream of cycling along the country lanes, along the banks of the local river. To go shopping with my bicycle at the local farmers market, melting into the crowds with my wickerwork basket, filling it with local produce and cycling home to the village, being one of the others. All women do it here, except for me. I take the car, park if I find a place, put the shopping in the boot and drive home, pestering the air with the gas fumes. I was just not cut out to be one of those high powered women that take a bike ride even for fun: cycling up the nearest mountain and free-wheeling back home. Where am I left in the queue with my aspirations of devastating actions, the bionic woman, the one that overtakes them all and gives lectures in the local women’s institute about her successes in active life showing photos of dangerous mountain paths, close-ups of bears and lions: a living example for all to admire.

I never did get round to writing my best seller, my book, my novel. Someone always steals my ideas. I was going to do “50 Shades” but the title was stolen, enlarged and I never did read that book. Not my sort of thing and to be quite honest I am too lazy to write a book. If I wrote my prize suspicious Pulitzer/Nobel prize winning book, I would need time. I would have to squeeze it between hovering, washing, ironing, cooking and generally spoiling Mr. Swiss. My Daily Prompt works of literature would have to take second place and my followers would face a regular disappointment. They rush to their computers daily. “What has she written today?” they will be asking themselves only to be left with a note on my web site “No blog today, am writing a bestseller”. I would have a neglected Mr. Swiss, taking second place, although when I would stand on the pedestal of success I would naturally give him a mention of the sacrifices he brought.

It is amazing how I always think of something new, when these daily prompts are reborn, under a different description. That is the talents of a writer. Perhaps there is a chance for me. 


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1 comment:

  1. With me it's not so much things I've wanted to do as much as places I've wanted to see. In other words....travelling to far-flung places.

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