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Age Ain't Nothin but a Number
Posted by funky monkey
on
Saturday, June 12, 2010
There once was a song by the late singer Aaliyah called "Age Ain't Nothin but a Number" And the title of that song has come to my head lately as we've been hearing about Abby Sunderland on the news and the troubles we had at sea. I first heard of Abby's journey briefly when I was in Argentina when it was announced that she would attempt to be the youngest sailor to try and circumnavigate the globe. I was on a journey of my own and so much was happening that I had little time to really focus on someone else's journey. So much was happening in so little time.
As you all know, the media has caught our attention of how Abby's boat Wildeyes was lost out at sea and for awhile there they didn't know if she was dead or alive. It is a tremendous relief to know that she is alive but unfortunately, her family has been coming under much criticism for allowing a daughter so young to go out on a boat. It is interesting to note that if she had completed her goal, the same critics would probably be praising her and her family saying "We knew you could do it all along!" What happened to the girl out there was no fault of her own, it was a big wave. It was not due to lack of skill. And this had not been the first extended solo mission she ever had. She has plenty of experience. And it had nothing to do with age, one can be 16 and be full of experience.
The reason why I am coming to Abby's defense is because I admire someone who will go after what is in their heart. I'm getting ready for an adventure of my own that offers little or no security and ALOT of uncertainties. And I truly appreciate people who believe in me from the beginning no matter what happens. If something happens to me down there, I don't need the talk "You were too young to be...." But some of you may protest that Abby is 16 and I am 30! There is a difference. For goodness sake, Jesus Christ was 12 years old when he was found preaching in the temple to astounded Rabbis!
And yes, we are thankful that it is only her journey that ended and not her life. In spite of all the negative media coverage, I want to honor Abby and her journey and the parts that she did do and the parts that she did cover. You and I wouldn't have the skills or experience to have covered a tiny fraction of what she did. She already is a winner in my eyes and I don't doubt that she will one day break records.
To stay positive and honor her journey, I'm now following Abby's blog and I've put it up on this site so you can click on it. I've also put a link to her direct website. As well you can follow her on twitter on this site.You know I've been looking for ways to make this site an interesting place to come and I can't think of a better way than to incorporate someone else's adventure.
Young people like me and like Abby who aren't afraid to take on the world and risk it all for a dream don't need negative criticism. You may be wondering what could possibly happen in the land where they play futbol and dance tango. On the other side of living in this wonderful city there are things that I have to keep in mind, like the fact that the traffic is so bad that accidents between cars and pedestrians claim the lives of 20 people per DAY in that city. These are things that go through my mind. As well I've had my own near hit and misses. Over here if a pedestrian is walking and they don't notice a car coming towards them, the car will slow down to avoid hitting them. In Buenos Aires if you don't see a car coming towards you, the driver will simply honk to warn you to get out of the way but continue to go at full speed. It happened to me once and I was happy that I got out of the way at the last minute.
There are other things that I could say but I don't want to breed negativity so I have to be very careful when bringing up the other side of Buenos Aires. And in the case of me and her, age is not a factor to whether something will or won't happen to us. It is a thing of circumstance. I am all about positivity on this blogsite so I want to leave you hear with this video of her the day before she left on her long voyage as she talking about her onboard computer, route, weather conditions on her boat Wildeyes. Age ain't nothin but a number!
http://www.youtube.com/user/soloround
Creatively Complex
As you all know, the media has caught our attention of how Abby's boat Wildeyes was lost out at sea and for awhile there they didn't know if she was dead or alive. It is a tremendous relief to know that she is alive but unfortunately, her family has been coming under much criticism for allowing a daughter so young to go out on a boat. It is interesting to note that if she had completed her goal, the same critics would probably be praising her and her family saying "We knew you could do it all along!" What happened to the girl out there was no fault of her own, it was a big wave. It was not due to lack of skill. And this had not been the first extended solo mission she ever had. She has plenty of experience. And it had nothing to do with age, one can be 16 and be full of experience.
The reason why I am coming to Abby's defense is because I admire someone who will go after what is in their heart. I'm getting ready for an adventure of my own that offers little or no security and ALOT of uncertainties. And I truly appreciate people who believe in me from the beginning no matter what happens. If something happens to me down there, I don't need the talk "You were too young to be...." But some of you may protest that Abby is 16 and I am 30! There is a difference. For goodness sake, Jesus Christ was 12 years old when he was found preaching in the temple to astounded Rabbis!
And yes, we are thankful that it is only her journey that ended and not her life. In spite of all the negative media coverage, I want to honor Abby and her journey and the parts that she did do and the parts that she did cover. You and I wouldn't have the skills or experience to have covered a tiny fraction of what she did. She already is a winner in my eyes and I don't doubt that she will one day break records.
To stay positive and honor her journey, I'm now following Abby's blog and I've put it up on this site so you can click on it. I've also put a link to her direct website. As well you can follow her on twitter on this site.You know I've been looking for ways to make this site an interesting place to come and I can't think of a better way than to incorporate someone else's adventure.
Young people like me and like Abby who aren't afraid to take on the world and risk it all for a dream don't need negative criticism. You may be wondering what could possibly happen in the land where they play futbol and dance tango. On the other side of living in this wonderful city there are things that I have to keep in mind, like the fact that the traffic is so bad that accidents between cars and pedestrians claim the lives of 20 people per DAY in that city. These are things that go through my mind. As well I've had my own near hit and misses. Over here if a pedestrian is walking and they don't notice a car coming towards them, the car will slow down to avoid hitting them. In Buenos Aires if you don't see a car coming towards you, the driver will simply honk to warn you to get out of the way but continue to go at full speed. It happened to me once and I was happy that I got out of the way at the last minute.
There are other things that I could say but I don't want to breed negativity so I have to be very careful when bringing up the other side of Buenos Aires. And in the case of me and her, age is not a factor to whether something will or won't happen to us. It is a thing of circumstance. I am all about positivity on this blogsite so I want to leave you hear with this video of her the day before she left on her long voyage as she talking about her onboard computer, route, weather conditions on her boat Wildeyes. Age ain't nothin but a number!
http://www.youtube.com/user/soloround
Creatively Complex
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