Along the Path
When I started searching for photos for this page, the title I had in mind was "A Walk in
the Woods."  Along the way, it turned into something more like a "A Ride on a Bike."  I'm
not sure why...but bicycle pictures just kept appearing and I kept saving them.
I think I may be drawn to bicycles because I'm one of the few people in the universe over
the age of six who's never learned to ride one.  It wasn't for lack of trying to persuade my
over-protective father that bicycles weren't as dangerous as he believed they were.
But I was an only child, born a bit late in my parents' lives, and my father, who was naturally
cautious by anyone's standard, was that-times-a-hundred when it came to his only progeny.
His argument was that we lived in the city - not the suburbs, but the city proper - where the
sidewalks were narrow and uneven and the streets filled with traffic.  After awhile, my mom and
I admitted defeat.  (My mother's theory was that we needed to conserve our energy for other
battles and, in this, she was correct.  Driving and dating loomed in my distant future and
those would be battles which required a goodly bit of stamina.  By the way, there's a link
to the story of "My Dad and the Driving Lesson" at the bottom of the page.)
By the time I was old enough to buy a bicycle on my own, I was pretty much out of the notion.
The notion did briefly resurface the year Santa brought my son his first bicycle (my father
was none too pleased with Santa and Santa heard about it for some time to come).
But that particular notion didn't last past a scraped elbow, a bruised shin and a turned ankle.  It
might not have been the traffic my dad was concerned about after all -- it might have been my
obvious lack of coordination.  (If I'd had a bike, it may have been the traffic that was in danger.)
Anyway, I've been bike-riding vicariously as I chose the images for this web page.  I'm sure it
wasn't as much fun as a real bike ride, but it was a lot safer for me.  And everyone one else. :-)
-- Nancy
Life is a constant series of decisons about which paths we will take:
what we look forward to and what we look back on.  -- Elizabeth Sayers
There are always at least two paths to take in life.  One is easy.
Make sure that's not its only reward.  -- Jason Clarke
As we follow our chosen paths, sometimes our very doubts
serve to reassure us.  -- Jean-Pierre de Caussade
If we all tried to make other people's paths easier, our own feet
would have a smoother place to walk.  -- Myrtle Reed
Tell a friend:
Please don't use the "Send page" feature of your computer to
send this entire page in an e-mail message, document or pdf
format.  This distorts the layout and separates the page from
its source.  If you'd like to share it, please just send the link.
The link to this page is:
http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Path.html
Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen,
few in pursuit of the goal.  -- Friedrich Nietzsche
Sometimes a person meets his destiny on the path
he took to avoid it.  -- Jean de la Fontaine
It is better to travel well than to arrive.  -- Buddha
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took to one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.  -- Robert Frost
Look at every path closely and deliberaely, then ask yourself this
crucial question:  Does this path have a heart?  If it does, then the
path is good.  If it doesn't, it is of no use.  -- Carlos Castaneda