Richard George Flowers

We often hear, especially around Valentine's Day, that "being spontaneous" is an essential element to keeping a relationship fresh. Whether it is a romantic relationship or a simple friendship between two men or two women, acts of spontaneity are often the memories that stand out and make us feel a deeper kinship with a friend or lover. A simple gesture like sending flowers to your spouse for no particular reason, or a more "crazy" act like taking a walk in a thunderstorm on the spur of the moment are the kind of things that tend to be etched into our memory forever. Indeed, the "crazy" acts of spontaneity are the ones that allow us to reminisce fondly and forge a stronger bond with our friend or mate. However, youth tends to persuade us to be more reckless in our choices of spontaneous acts - a lesson I was taught in a most painful manner.

In autumn of 1981, I was a carefree 19 year-old sailor stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. On a brisk and chilly October night, my friend Donny and I sat atop a large lifeguard's chair on a deserted beach. Our shivering soon subsided with the assistance of a campfire and an anonymous beverage. After a time, we decided that the Virginia Beach bay looked inviting, so we opted to swim about a mile across the bay. Oh yeah, we decided that it would be better if we did it naked!

So, on a star-filled chilly midnight, on a deserted beach in Virginia in 1981, two unadorned sailors entered the ocean to swim a mile across the bay. Fortunately, it took only about 400 yards for Donny and me to realize the folly of our idea, so we turned back. Unfortunately, we also failed to realize that the bay was thick with jellyfish... the same jellyfish that had been stinging us all over our bodies for the entire swim! Yes, they stung us EVERYWHERE! The next day, the shipboard Hospital Corpsman could hardly stop laughing long enough to give us the liniment to apply to our tortured bodies.

Even today, I still like to be spontaneous, and maybe even "get a little crazy" at times. Nevertheless, the fall of 1981 taught me that spontaneity should be tempered with common sense... especially if it involves getting naked!

Rick Huffman is a National long-haul driver who spent 20 years in the broadcasting industry before becoming a trucker. He describes the career change as, "...the best decision I ever мейд on one day, and the worst one I ever мейд on the next."