Nature is a cat and mouse game. And animals are much better at it because they practice it because they live and die by it. Awareness of your surroundings. As humans we get to relaxed I believe. We don’t have to worry in too many cases about other animals attacking us, but we are not aware enough about each other. Yeah there has been black bears in the area. I’ve come across a copperhead or two living next to the woods. But I find much more danger in humans. Just get in your car if you don’t believe me.

And while it’s against my normal nature to distrust people right off, I’ve also learned about survival. For instance if you’ve ever been in major cities at night, you’re much more in danger than you know. There are hunters out there. People hunting people. There are people out on the roads who are one second away from road rage. And it’s just not cities, it’s everywhere in between the vast spaces to suburban neighborhoods.

No matter where you live there are such random acts of violence that it’s all in the odds or circumstances. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t live in constant fear of this stuff. I don’t even think about it much. I don’t feel the need to walk around armed yet, (but that thought is getting more frequent). But it gets harder to ignore with all the stories in our local areas. I’m wondering if it’s actually increased or just reported in a way now that its more immediate and in video. I think it’s a bit of both really.

So you do things that minimize risk. I used to enjoy walking around DC at night. Not anymore. I used to be much less tolerant of other drivers. Now its how much space can I keep between me and the rest of them. Yeah I’m working on that tolerance issue also. But even in my own neighborhood. There was a break in up the street last month. I’ve heard people down the street recently letting some live rounds loose towards the woods which I’m not crazy about at all. I’ve got new neighbors I don’t know well. I hope to remedy that soon.

I guess my only point is to learn something from our wild friends. Because there are a lot of “wild” people who don’t value life, so be ready and aware, no matter where you are. That’s why I like speaking to people by simple greetings like good morning or hello, maybe have a good day. And I don’t mind speaking first. It’s the ones that don’t reply or look at you wrong that you need to worry about. Then at least you know who to keep your eye on. And trust your gut, that is something nature has provided us all. If they feel wrong, they probably are.