Skills I Learned in Sixth Grade

Ann and I have been back from Yosemite National Park for almost a week now.  Wow does time fly!  As we continue to cull through our images (Ann is much better able to immediately review and begin working on images after photographing than I am), I figure I should at least share a few thoughts and stories from our trip until I have the images to post a longer trip story and, ultimately, we can post the final edits on the photo site.It’s not everyday you get to use skills you learned in sixth grade.  I don’t mean multiplication and division - I use those every time I do billing, or have to figure out how much I have to set aside to pay my estimated quarterly taxes.  And I don’t mean kick ball skills either.  I mean real skills you learned and developed while in sixth grade (and probably only while in sixth grade).  

You see, in sixth grade I was a crossing guard.  No, not one of those adults with a big STOP sign that stops traffic for little kids to cross, that started well after my time.  I’m talking about sixth graders doing pretty much the same thing!  You know, one of those nerdy looking kids that had on a fluorescent orange belt that ran across his chest and that would step out into the street to stop traffic so even littler kids could cross safely.  Back in the day when they actually gave sixth graders some responsibilities (instead of arresting their parents for allowing their kids to walk home from their elementary school or a neighborhood playground).  

Yup, my corner was at Westbrook Drive and Powhatan Street.  And boy did I ever learn how to stop cars!  Who would have thought those skills could come in handy 45 years later?

Now you might ask yourself how this is at all relevant to our trip to Yosemite.  I assure you, there is a connection.  You see, a couple of Mondays ago Ann and I were spending a pleasant afternoon photographing in Cook’s Meadow.  The main reason we were there was to photograph Yosemite Falls and the moon as it was rising over half dome (in case folks were worrying, I was not going to title any photographs “Moonrise Over Half Dome” - I wouldn’t want Ansel to roll over in his grave!).  We made our photographs and I started moving onto other images - first some interesting bark on a fallen tree, then over to a standing tree for more bark shots.  

Suddenly Ann yelled, “Dan, there’s a bobcat over here!”  Needing no further motivation I stopped before I even took a single shot and headed over towards Ann.  Sure enough, there was a bobcat in the shadows no more than 30 feet in front of Ann.  Without thinking I immediately lifted my camera and took a shot.

Ann unfortunately had her super telephoto lens on and was having a hard time getting the bobcat in focus - it was too close!  After I took my shot it started slowly walking forwards - I thought it was about to pounce on something - and when it moved I did too.  When I got a bit closer I took another shot.

By then its posture had changed somewhat, no longer in the hunt, and it was walking towards the cars, eyeing up and down the road. I realized that it was probably going to try and cross the road. A very busy road. I immediately know what I had to do.

The bobcat kept walking and so did I. I kept a steady, smooth pace as it worked its way past a couple of cars. I made a line to the rear of the dark blue car you see in the photograph above. By the time I got to the gravel the bobcat was three cars down, and had eyed the spaces between each car as it passed. It paused and turned to head between the cars and looked at me. I kept my pace steady, looked at it and then away, stepping onto the street.

There was nothing to my left, but to my right a car was flying down the road. I stood in the middle of the street - camera in one hand - and waved the car to stop. It took it a second, but it did. Unfortunately it stopped right in front of where the bobcat was. I then waved it on. As the driver moved forward and past me, the bobcat stepped out between the cars and on the pavement, staring at me again.

Then I heard a fast moving car to my rear. I turned around to see some young guy hot rodding it down the road. I waved my arms and made a stop motion. Nothing! I noticed that his window was down and in that voice that Brandon, Kit and Devon know all too well (Ann calls it my Sergeant’s voice) I yelled - “SLOW DOWN YOU IDIOT, THERE’S A BOBCAT IN THE ROAD!” The guy immediately hit his brakes. After a second I heard him say, “Wow, there is!”

By the time I turned around again, the bobcat was across the street and there were people up and down that side of the street pointing here and there and pulling out their cellphones. I walked back towards Ann to find out where she wanted to go photograph next, knowing I’d done my good deed for the day.

So that’s how my sixth grade training (with a bit of military oomph in there) paid off at Yosemite. Too bad they didn’t let me yell at cars like that as a kid - that would have been a kick!