Standing in the River Too Long

Standing in the River Too Long

Crossing the Rubicon May Get You Run Over - A planksip Double Entendre

Sophia revved the engine of the Jeep, the rumble of it echoing through the silent woods like the roar of an awakened beast. It was an odd sight – a modern chariot of steel and horsepower juxtaposed against the eternal stillness of ancient trees. The very air seemed to vibrate with anticipation. She had named the Jeep 'Caesar', a nod to the boldness it inspired within her.

To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.
— Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

The words of Kierkegaard ran through her mind as she faced the fork in the path before her. The right path was well-trodden, wide enough for Caesar to pass without the brush kissing its sides. The left, however, was barely visible, overgrown and wild, a path that whispered of adventure and mystery. To the right was certainty, safety. To the left was the unknown, a gamble. Sophia felt the familiar tingle of excitement at the base of her spine.

For Sophia, life was an unending quest for those moments that snatched your breath away. Each day was a tightrope walk between the mundane and the magnificent, and she had long since decided that she would not be content to watch from the sidelines. A life without risk was not a life at all, she reasoned.

She turned the wheel to the left, feeling Caesar's tires crunch over the untamed earth. Branches clawed at the doors, leaves fluttered over the windshield, and Sophia laughed, a wild, exuberant sound that mingled with the whispering of the woods.

With each twist and turn of the trail, the Jeep's sturdy frame jostled her, a physical manifestation of the perils of daring to step off the beaten path. She had lost her footing, in a sense, letting go of the certainty of smooth asphalt for the thrill of the rough unknown.

The trail opened up to a clearing, and there, standing solemn as the dawn of time, was the statue. Not the actual Julius Caesar, but an echo of his legacy, carved in silent stone.

Sophia killed the engine and stepped out. She couldn't help but marvel at the juxtaposition before her. The statue's stoic gaze seemed fixed on the horizon, eternal and unblinking, as if contemplating the weight of history's innumerable decisions. Meanwhile, her Jeep, the embodiment of modern audacity, sat at its base, a metallic disciple of the same daring spirit that Caesar once embodied.

She had lost her footing for a moment, veering off the safe path, and found herself here, in the company of greatness.

Alexander switched on the television, the flickering of the screen casting a soft glow in the dim room. The nature documentary he had been waiting for had finally come on, but his mind was elsewhere. He had recently heard a quote by Gore Vidal that both amused and intrigued him.

Never pass up a chance to have sex or appear on television.
— Gore Vidal (1925-2012)

It was a line that suggested a life lived in the pursuit of experience and exposure. Alexander, ever the introvert, chuckled at the thought. The idea of appearing on television terrified him, and as for the other... well, his romantic encounters could be described as infrequent at best.

As he sipped his tea, he pondered the quote's underlying message. Was Vidal suggesting that life was for living out loud, for seizing opportunities without hesitation? Alexander's existence was rather quiet, composed of small, secure routines that rarely ruffled any feathers. He considered himself content, but the quote nagged at him, a persistent whisper that perhaps he was missing out on the grandeur of life.

On screen, a lioness chased down her prey with a grace and ferocity that captivated him. Here was nature's drama unfolding before his eyes, a raw and powerful testament to the essence of existence. It was life unfiltered, untamed, and utterly real.

Alexander's mind wandered to Sophia, his friend who seemed to embody Vidal's philosophy. She had a presence that could fill any room, a vivacity that made television personalities seem dull by comparison. She would've laughed at the quote, he thought, not because she found it amusing, but because it was a reality she lived every day.

A sudden idea struck him, electrifying in its potential. What if he stepped out from the safety of his routine? What if he embraced the spirit of the quote, if only for a day?

Before he could second-guess himself, he grabbed his phone and dialed the local news station. They were looking for volunteers for a community project. His voice wavered, but he managed to get the words out.

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