Taking Things for Granted

     We were shocked recently to have a failure of our municipal water system.  All of of a sudden there was no water flow and our neighbors were exchanging panic calls wondering what was going on.  Our outage was about the time we were preparing dinner so anything you handle in food prep would normally require some hand washing.   Oh how much we take for granted the delivery of water, gas and electricity.  It was a reminder how much we are blessed with the reliability of these systems.
     This got me to thinking about the things I take for granted in my skiing life.   For one thing, I expect to safely ski everyday without any minor or major catastrophe.  However, this past Friday I had the unexpected crash on a slope that I have skied a thousand times.   The crash was precipitated by glue like snow under a leaking snow maker!   This year we have had a plethora of snow makers operating on open slopes.    We know that these areas can be treacherous and  we have our antennas tuned to avoiding gotchas!  Perhaps we get too complacent thinking we have all under control.   Too much taking it for granted that we will always succeed.
    You can be sure that skiers take for granted that the lifts will operated safely and reliably.    This means not only delivering us to the top without a hitch, but also loading and unloading us without issues.  However taking this for granted has given some of use a rude awakening this season.    My companions have experienced or observed some disturbing incidents this season.   One was loaded on a chair where the seat was an open hole.   Another's granddaughter was launched on a chair without a companion.   And of course, two of my companions became tangled with a third person and crashed into the bushes.
      We often take for granted we are not too vulnerable in the sport of skiing.   For the geezer crowd we are at an age where we are not so adept at dealing with the unexpected.   We should be thankful that we continue to function and plan for the day when we will have to transition to another activity.   We must face the fact that one day we no longer will be taking it for granted we will be whisking down the slopes like the days of our youth.