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<DIV>
<DIV>That's a keeper! </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Jana, You'll want to print out the recent posts and show your
mom. It's also time to start putting your foot down, but in a respectful
way, of course. I suggest you have her watch some DVD's or journals.
Well, maybe not... ; )</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Get out there, you'll have a great time. Best of luck.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sly</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 1/11/2008 7:01:37 PM Eastern Standard Time,
dsaufley@sprynet.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; MARGIN-LEFT: 10px"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>I am
both a woman who likes to hike alone and a mother of a
20-something<BR>son. I hate to tell you this, but there is probably
nothing you can say to<BR>your mother that will make her feel that it is safe
out on the trail. This<BR>is especially true in light of the recent and
horrific news regarding a<BR>female hiker's death at the hands of someone who
looked like another hiker.<BR>The usual reassurances of how wonderful and
supportive other hikers and<BR>hosts are probably won't appease her fears
right now. <BR><BR>Most of us fear that which we don't know. I'm going
to guess from your<BR>question that your mother does not have much, if any,
backcountry hiking<BR>experience, so her fear of all the things that might
happen are playing bit<BR>in her mind. It doesn't matter that tens of
thousands of women hike every<BR>year with great success and enjoyment; if
you've never done it, you fear<BR>every remote and infinitesimally small
possibility ranging from bear and<BR>snake attacks to falling off cliffs, to
criminals hiding behind every tree. <BR><BR>The truth is more women are
abducted, raped, and murdered from grocery store<BR>and mall parking lots than
killed on hiking trails. Driving our cars is<BR>probably the most dangerous
thing we do, yet most of us drive every day.<BR>Absolutely no where is safe
from peril -- not schools, our workplaces, or<BR>the public places and
businesses we frequent. The very food we eat is<BR>suspect and kills people
every day (some slowly, some quickly). Our lives<BR>are full of risk;
you can either wall yourself in and live in fear, or take<BR>the risks head on
and live a personally fulfilling life.<BR><BR>A true story that illustrates
this well is that my mother's best childhood<BR>friend was killed while she
and her baby son were napping at home one<BR>afternoon. A small
passenger plane crashed into her house, killing her and<BR>the pilot. It is a
story that has stayed with me and shaped my life, and I<BR>think of it every
time I confront something I fear and put an end to the<BR>fearfulness.
There is nothing more empowering than conquering the demon
of<BR>fear.<BR><BR>In this country we only believe that we're safe, but our
sense of safety is<BR>false. In many other countries they live with the
knowledge that they are<BR>not safe. We usually feel the things we know
best are the safest -- like<BR>going to school or church. But you only
have to read the news to know that<BR>the possibility of someone going berserk
on a murderous rampage is possible<BR>anywhere, in the places we feel safest.
<BR><BR>Not one of us gets out of here alive, and none of us know with
certainty<BR>where we will be or when the hour will come. So, if your
mom let you drive<BR>a car, fly in a plane, or go off to college, she has
already accepted many<BR>possible risks with regard to your perceived safety.
Hiking on the PCT or<BR>any trail is no different than any of those events.
Maybe you can invite her<BR>along with you, so that she herself can see that
in many ways we are safer<BR>on the trail than anywhere in
civilization.<BR><BR>I wish you luck in convincing her.<BR><BR>L-Rod
</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Start the year off right. <A title="http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489" href="http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489" target="_blank">Easy ways to stay in shape</A> in the new year. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>