Beneath The Surface

    Saturday my son Colin made a visit and he advised me to get the App Strava to  record my bike rides.   He is an avid bike rider during the off season from skiing.   We both enjoy biking and skiing and clearly bond over those activities. 
    Since Saturday I have taken a couple of recorded bike rides using the App.  The App gets my results via e-mail and responds with a comment on the ride.  Here is today's comment.

"Amazing ride, Gerald Rehkugler. You just took the top spot on the leaderboard on Congdon Ln Climb by 26s. Take a closer look on Strava or share your achievement on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter."

    What an ego boosting comment!   However, let's look beneath the surface.   The App is really for bikers without power assist.   My e-bike gives me a big advantage for.the climb described in the comment.  My ethical framework precludes me from taking advantage of this anomaly so forget it about positing anything.
    All this reminds me that whenever we hear or observed something, it is a good thing to look beneath the surface to find what we might be missing.   Not doing so can lead us to wrong conclusions and dangerous actions.    One for instance comes to mind regarding skiing.  I frequently watch the Weather Channel and was blown away by a piece showing a trio of skiers caught in an avalanche.   They were off trail skiing and reached what looked like a beautiful run on fresh snow.   Everything seemed all right as the entered the run.  However a short distance into the run the top several feet of snow fractured from the mountainside and a roaring avalanche engulfed them.  Two of them managed to stay on top of the flow, while the third was quickly buried.   The third survived when dug out and air lifted to a hospital for recovery.   Only the quick thinking search of the two other skiers enabled  uncovering their companion.   They were unaware that there was a fragile layer under the new fallen snow.
     Beyond the physical illustration above, I dare venture into a comment about our current  political and pandemic chaos.   We are bombarded by news, comments, opinions and sometimes so-called facts.  Without taking any sides, I will only comment that when we hear read or see something, one would be wise to look beneath the surface to find true meaning.   The old adage to "check and verify" seems appropriate.
    Stay safe and healthy !