It’s said we become more conservative as we age and enter our senior years. That is, a time with fewer degrees of freedom, less flexibility physically and mentally, more opinionated, more judgmental, less exploratory, more fixed in our ideas, take fewer risks, etc. Sound familiar as a image of aging? Could such conservatism affect me? There follows the cause for my concern. 

Little Seneca Lake (LSL) is a 500 acre lake near where I live and it’s used primarily for fishing and other forms of on water recreation. Why it’s called Little Seneca Lake is unclear as to my knowledge there exists no Big Seneca Lake and saying Little implies there is - so why not just call it Seneca Lake? But I digress.

Today I’m sitting at the LSL boat launch on a lovely but busy day yet isn’t it also mislabeled since people put in paddleboards and kayaks as well and most people do not associate boats with either. But I digress again.

So, I’m sitting there and I observe a father and his two children and two dogs playing at the launch. The father is repeatedly throwing balls into the lake and the dogs are diving off the dock and retrieving them. The kids? They’re swimming in the lake and obviously having as great a time as the dogs. The father keeps talking on his phone so I’m not sure not much fun he’s having. But, there’s no swimming allowed in LSL. I know this is true for humans but I’m unsure if the rule also applies to dogs, but why discriminate? Moreover, their activity is complicating others coming and going from the launch on a busy day with their crafts (a craft launch?). If you’ve ever done one you know such launches can be stressful under the best of circumstances especially if the launch site is crowded - as it was today.
 
But here’s the dilemma. Should I tell Dad about the no swimming rule and altruistically help him to avoid a potential encounter with park police or even receive a ticket? After ruminating over this question I decide to not intervene, mind my own business, and continue with my bike ride. After all, what harm really is being done other than some minor rule-breaking of which I’ve been guilty of from time to time (easier to ask forgiveness than permission I say).

As I’m biking off lo and behold! I see park police coming my way. I think, I made the right decision in not talking to Dad and the universe is acting to set matters right. I stopped him and say “I hate to be a tattletale but there are kids swimming in the lake at the boat launch”. He says, “are they there now” and I say “yes” and he proceeds to drive the short distance to the launch. I didn’t follow to watch the encounter but I felt confident in knowing the stars were aligned such that I ran so to speak into park police and felt totally justified in reporting the ongoing infraction. Who knows - maybe I saved a child’s life but in any case all rules were being followed and balance in the world had been restored.