Mauna Kea. The astronomical domes don’t show here, but I saw them in binocs
My aging motto is “Do as much as you can for as long as you can and stay as strong as you can.”
Hey, it’s been working so far. When I look in a mirror I am no longer the svelte, sturdy young thing I used to wish I was. I am now the fat, dumpy pillsbury dough boy with wrinkles. People now see the age in me and assume I am feeble and helpless.
Not quite.
Today in Hilo I took a shuttle bus from the pier to downtown. The bus driver was nice enough to let me scramble aboard. This woman probably in her sixties took me on as a project.
Mauna Kea and it’s fumeroles on its flank. It was not always this peaceful.
When I was getting off (not a problem, nothing unusual), she grabbed my elbow and tried to steer me. She warned me about an extra step down that was perfectly obvious, and when I descended she held on, nearly pulling me off my feet.
What I really wanted to do was backhand her two feet, but I behaved. I held onto the balance bar and made it down without incident in spite of her.
I was nice, but I was not nice enough to thank her. She nearly made me fall. The lesson here? Before you get helpful, please, PLEASE offer, and if the response is “thank you but I’m good,” BACK OFF. Thank you for taking to heart this PSA.