Originally Posted by
marketdawg
Call it a Simile or a Metaphor...It's been too long since my last English class to discern at this point in my life but I think I just came-up with a great one all on my own at the very young age of 41. I claim this as my own and I hope it makes sense to you (and I hope my wife gets aback soon) as this is the crap I come up with when I have way too much "free" time. If you remember the old-school jet skis that you used to have stand-up on then this will make much more sense. This is dedicated to our new friends on Beautiful Lake Claiborne and to my parents; who have worked so very long and so very hard to buy a family place on a lake that we can all enjoy:
"Life is like riding a jet ski. At first you have trouble just getting going in the right direction and standing up on your own. Once you get that part down you try going faster, and then faster, in a straight line. After that you get cocky and try a few tricks. Then you start looking for the real fun stuff. Once you're truly good at this you quit avoiding the rough water and large wakes that gave you trouble in the past and you embrace and seek them out. The former "bumps in the road or large wakes" become ramps that you launch yourself out of the water with confidence... and giggle every time!
After this you begin to realize that you miss too much of the fun; at high velocity, so you slow down a bit. As you slow your course you see that the beautiful scenery has been passing you by way too quickly. So you desire the "wet-bike" . Basically a jet-ski that you can sit down on. You can still go fast; if you desire, but you can also "plop" your butt down on a seat and take a cruise around the lake at your pace..enjoying the scenery.
Eventually you realize that your wet-bike confines you to how many folks you can take with you on your trips. You do some soul searching and you decide that your days of going fast are done and you'd like a little company...so you get a party-barge (or pontoon boat). As you take your evening "booze cruise" or "evening jaunt" around the lake you look back at your life and realize that you may have missed quite a few of the sights and sounds of your life while barreling along, willy-nilly on your jet-ski.
Then you begin to understand that you've survived your jet-ski years and surmise that these party-barge days are the best of your life. You comprehend the fact that these party-barges are expensive and you had to give a lot of yourself over the years to get to this part of your boating career; both financially and mentally, to get to this point in your life where you know that this is right. It's just about this time that a couple of "kids" tear by your party-barge, on "jet-skis", at high velocity, hooting and hollering and ramping the waves. I hope you smile and wave from your party-barge...maybe even honk the horn at them and raise your glass.