Have you ever jumped into freezing water? Every New Year's Day hundreds of people jump into Lake Michigan wearing just their swimsuit. I participated in a similar activity. As a Girl Scout I wanted to earn a badge. At summer camp, we jump into the lake early one morning to meet the badge requirement. I froze my butt off! I remember feeling numb as I came out of the water. It was cold in the water, even in summer. Sometimes we do things for fun, but don't always think about what may happen afterwards.
In to Build a Fire, the man goes for a walk by himself in the middle of a winter night to meet the boys at the fort. In the dark, he ends of falling through the ice. His hands and feet become numb, and he feels like they are disconnected from his body. The man tries to build a fire, but fails. Panic runs through him, as the numbness spreads. He decides to give in by laying on the cold ground, and falling asleep. The man made several mistakes during the night, which led to him freezing to death.
His focus was on the fun he had planned, and not on planning for his outing. My father always says, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." This story proves that statement to be right. As he lay dying, he remembered being told to plan for the coldness. His decision to ignore the advise, for the fun was blinding him of common sense. Think before you act for it may come back to haunt you.
No comments:
Post a Comment