The Youthful Adventurer and I were snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands when we saw the shark. He kept swimming; we kept swimming. It was exciting to see one and good that he was a distance from us and that the water was clear. Afterward, I teased my son that I didn’t have to worry if the shark had pointed our way since the shark would, no doubt, go for a veal dinner, not the aged one. The Youthful Adventurer answered right back: No, the shark would have gone for the slow zebra.
~Advertisement~
Now when I travel, I am not so worried about being shark bait as I am hopeful to be in sufficient shape for a trip. I don’t want to be the one holding my group back, or the one everyone for whom everyone is constantly waiting. I don’t want to be seen as a straggler. My concern wasn’t such an issue last summer when I was traveling on a riverboat along the Seine; the majority of my fellow travelers were far more senior than I was. In less than a month, though, I will be cruising along the Volga, touring St. Petersburg, and traipsing through Moscow. Before taking a big journey, I make more of an effort to get into shape. Right now, I am doing the Couch to 5K program, aimed at getting slackers from sitting around to running five kilometers in nine weeks. Some days I walk it; some days I run. The point is that I am making sure I am ready for my upcoming adventure.
—Lori Tripoli
1 thought on “Never Be the Slow Zebra”