Fearless or experienced?

[Jim]

Ross, why the attacks

I give you a good idea for a first trip and you attack me. You should look in the mirror so time. You are rude.

 

[Ross]

Jim, Go back and read your posts and what you called my boat.

You have not seen rude from me yet. Ever read Jack London? Wolf Larsen was a pussy cat compared to me when I get riled.

 

[Jim]

Sorry, I reallt though that was the name...

My mistake. I really though that was the name.

You should include the name on you sign off. I know I don't do it but then again I don't have a sign off.

Jim, Second Wind

 

[Cap't Ron]

Sir Edmund Hillary, Rheinhold Messner,

Neil Armstrong, Jaques Cousteau, John Glenn, Chuck Yeager, Craig Breedlove, and many others would qualify for 'inexperienced' as what they did had never been done before, and any reasonable person could consider these guys fearless.

There is a place for these people in History, many never made it, Emila Earheart as an example.

Cousteau (and partner Gaugan) develpoed the first two-stage regulator while he was an officer in the French navy, but he came close to death several times, he qualifies.

Neil Armstrong had flown many different vehicles, but had never operated the LEM that he piloted down to the moons surface, a "fearless" thing to do, but many, (pencil me in ;-) would have been happy to gone with him.

The world has always had a need for these folks, otherwise we would just stay home and say, "oh that, impossible, don't try it".

Experience is hard to come by, impossible to teach, and most folks will not listen wisedom anyway.

WE should all take each others views into a crucible-mix of dialogue, no one is forced to agree, but how do you learn without an opposing view?

Keep you minds, if not open keep a crack of daylight shinning through there fellas, and lets all treat each other with respect without name calling.

I know, guilty me too, example Gomer Pyle when a gentle attorney accused me of being an idiot, but a fellows yacht that he put mucho work and sweat into should be holy ground.Further, should we all condemn Mark Twain for not calling himself Sam Clemens???

 

[Ross]

Capt Ron, All of these people had a through understanding

of the systems and efforts they were endeavoring. They were not fearless but they were able to control their fears. All of them understood the risks involved and the consequences of failure. They also knew that they had some control of events. Am I afraid of falling from a great height? Of course I am. Does that keep me from climbing? No! But it makes me careful. To be fearless, is to be ignorant. Are the men who disarm unexploded ordinance afraid? you bet they are. Do they know what they are doing? Each time they go to work they are betting their lives on it. I used to assemble black powder pipe bombs for testing purposes. Was I fearless? Not at all. But I was very careful. In the middle of filling one I looked up to see I had an audience. I asked him if he knew what I was doing? He didn't. When I told him he decided that he wasn't cut out to be a witness and left. When we shot those bombs we sheltered behind a bomb proof shield.

 

[Cap't Ron]

Semantics

Dear Ross,

I have been exasperated by you over the years, especially since Ihave been trained to question all, especially anothers book, or anything in print.

However, I have grown to see that you are basically a good person with integrity, an engineers mind and a dillgent worker. In short, I have learned to respect you, and even your opinion on an odd day.

"Fearless" has absolutey zero definition by your view of these people.
They did NOT know what would happen when setting down on the moon, breaking the sound barrior the first time, using a regulator, and do indeed qualifiy as being as near " fearless" as the work will allow.
In climbing, especially ice, one does NOT think about what will happen, but has a cold "fearless" single view, and does not even consider failure in the least of his thoughts.

Once Messner, and at that time Peter Habler too, set off to conquer Everest without O2, they neede the strength of having their "fearless" egos take over and think of none but success.It is not the kind of expedition for feint of heart, only the fearless need apply; all others are doomed to fail.

 

[Ross]

Dear Capt. Ron, I agree that for some people there comes

a point where egos over come fear and common sense. There are from my perspective two ways to succeed, one takes shear determination and the other pure hardheadedness. Messrs Scott and Amundsen demonstrated both traits at the south pole. One with notable success and the other with notable failure.

 

[Nice N Easy]

Just my .02

First, keep me away from anyone who is totally fearless. Someone who is completely without fear is going to take risks I don't wish to take. And keep me away from anyone who is prone to panic. Panic, and the inability to think that goes with it will kill you. So, someone who has enough sense to be scared in a dangerous situation, but who won't panic suits me. If a person has these traits, then they can be told what to do, and can do whatever is necessary to get past a tight spot.