122/365 - Going downhill fast

I first visited northern Michigan with a few colleagues shortly after finishing my graduate studies.  One sunny afternoon, three of us decided to go for a hike.  The trail wound up and around a wooded hillside and eventually opened up along the top of a large sand dune.  Down below and as far as the eye could see was beautiful Lake Michigan, sparkling blue in the sunshine, with a lovely beach trailing along the bottom of the sandy dune.

After gazing for a long while at the glory before us, we decided to trek down the dune to the beach instead of continuing along the wooded trail - oblivious to the posted warning signs about the steepness of the dune.  About halfway down, with equal oblivion and an obvious disrespect for the force of gravity, we all began running.  Yes, running.  Downhill.

About two steps into this run, I knew it was a bad idea.  About a step after that, I realized I couldn't stop.  Laughing hysterically (hysterically in the truest sense of the word) I had no choice but to be propelled down the side of the dune, completely out of control.  To this day, what happened after that is still a blur of sand and frantic screams.  My two friends, god only knows how, managed to stay on their feet all the way down.  Both of them, with a fair amount of glee, later recounted seeing me cartwheel less than gracefully down the side of the dune.  All I remember is sand flying everywhere and the world spinning for a good long while after my sorry ass landed on the beach.

This story is the perfect analogy for the month of April just past, with the exception of my colleagues laughing at me.  Frankly, I think we're all going to be reeling and digging sand out of our ears for a good long while.