Negotiating the puddle
Failing to correctly negotiate a puddle can have potentially disastrous concequences, although they may not necessarily be as dire as the results of my previous post on falling over / tripping up in public.
The art of walking is underestimated by most. The method of keeping your head up whilst negotiating a mixture of chewing gum and dog excrement is harder than it looks. Most people opt for one or the other, both of which can result in some perilous situations that we need not go into (think lamp-posts for looking down).
Looking up is a bit more relevant, because determining the best route along a pavement whilst keeping your head up is a difficult challenge made much worse when the wet weather of December beds in.
Whilst driving to work this morning I was watching a gentleman jogger running along at a very steady pace. All the while, he was eyeing up what was ahead; a puddle of gargantuan proportions that could spell the end of his (mostly) dry jog so far.
Instead of planning his route around the puddle however, he chose to stop his run, end his rhythm and cut short his breathing. All because he couldn't work his way around this puddle. It was one of those moments where, if you're anything like me, you start planning peoples' routes out for them whilst you're doing other things.
"Don't go that way, you're going to put your foot in.. Too late".
Because of this enormous puddle, this man's run was ruined, and all due to ill-planning.
Flashback to a few years ago. My Dad and I were walking his dog in a park in Bristol.
She was a Staffordshire bull-terrier with incredibly short legs. To drop this dog in a pond would be tantamount to dropping a stone into a swimming pool of infinate depth. Bless her.
As we walk around the park on a particularly wet and windy day, we see her make a run for some birds that happen to have landed on the other side of a bit of patchy concrete.
The birds observe her gaining yardage at a compelling rate, whilst not making a move.
Like a rabbit in headlights, they stand there utterly dumbfounded as this raving loonatik dog hurtles toward them.
So focused was our little terrier, that she neglected rule 1 of travelling along any surface:
If keeping your head up, be sure to plan your route.
The birds looked on as the dog ran at full pelt across a slightly wetter part of concrete, and I'm sure I saw a wry smile cross one of their beaks as she ran straight into what turned out to be a 3-feet-deep puddle.
Queue much splashing and my Dad running at full pelt to collect the floundering idiot that didn't plan ahead.
Only then did the birds fly away.
Remember kids, know your route.
The art of walking is underestimated by most. The method of keeping your head up whilst negotiating a mixture of chewing gum and dog excrement is harder than it looks. Most people opt for one or the other, both of which can result in some perilous situations that we need not go into (think lamp-posts for looking down).
Looking up is a bit more relevant, because determining the best route along a pavement whilst keeping your head up is a difficult challenge made much worse when the wet weather of December beds in.
Whilst driving to work this morning I was watching a gentleman jogger running along at a very steady pace. All the while, he was eyeing up what was ahead; a puddle of gargantuan proportions that could spell the end of his (mostly) dry jog so far.
Instead of planning his route around the puddle however, he chose to stop his run, end his rhythm and cut short his breathing. All because he couldn't work his way around this puddle. It was one of those moments where, if you're anything like me, you start planning peoples' routes out for them whilst you're doing other things.
"Don't go that way, you're going to put your foot in.. Too late".
Because of this enormous puddle, this man's run was ruined, and all due to ill-planning.
Flashback to a few years ago. My Dad and I were walking his dog in a park in Bristol.
She was a Staffordshire bull-terrier with incredibly short legs. To drop this dog in a pond would be tantamount to dropping a stone into a swimming pool of infinate depth. Bless her.
As we walk around the park on a particularly wet and windy day, we see her make a run for some birds that happen to have landed on the other side of a bit of patchy concrete.
The birds observe her gaining yardage at a compelling rate, whilst not making a move.
Like a rabbit in headlights, they stand there utterly dumbfounded as this raving loonatik dog hurtles toward them.
So focused was our little terrier, that she neglected rule 1 of travelling along any surface:
If keeping your head up, be sure to plan your route.
The birds looked on as the dog ran at full pelt across a slightly wetter part of concrete, and I'm sure I saw a wry smile cross one of their beaks as she ran straight into what turned out to be a 3-feet-deep puddle.
Queue much splashing and my Dad running at full pelt to collect the floundering idiot that didn't plan ahead.
Only then did the birds fly away.
Remember kids, know your route.
posted by Karl at
10:25 am
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