I am holding the hand of Max, my 16 year-old neighbor, a sweet surfer young man and academic scholar (not mutually exclusive). He gave me the excellent advice on how to buy and use a GoPro camera for my March Baja whale adventure.
Alas, I failed to listen to his best advice about putting a “floatie” on the camera when it was thrust under the water to capture the Pacific gray whales. I decided at the last minute to listen to one of the “adults”— a nuclear expert who had many cameras with him. The GoPro vanished in 100 plus feet of water the first time it was used. Lesson? Yes! Sometimes what makes our life work is our willingness to listen to younger voices. Just as I needed Max’s hand to steady me on this rolling Indo board, I should have used his advice to steady me in using the camera. We can get thrown off our “board” or lost at sea without opening our minds to advice of many. Next time, Max—I am listening to you!