Breath of FireWinter 2007
Author: Ken Homer Issue: 2024-03-20
Breath of Fire–Winter 2007
by Ken Homer
[ed. note–if you enjoy these stories from Ken's life, send him a thank-you at kenhomer @ sonic.net – I know he'd appreciate it!]
It was a typical February day Here in the Bay Area A damp fog clung to the trees There was a hint of a breeze Temps in the high 40s to the low 50s
I drove to the end of the road To the trailhead at Baltimore Canyon A favorite hiking spot of mine I sat in my car and took two hits From a joint before getting out As I was walking toward the trail Two women were coming off it Shall I give him the stuff? The other answered in the affirmative
I was taken aback They had to be talking about me No one else was around The younger of the two Approached me while the Other one went to their car And began rummaging in the trunk There’s a woman on the trail Maybe half a mile in She sprained her ankle quite badly Would you take her some warm things?
I told them I’d be happy to The other woman came over Handed me a parka and windbreaker Thank you she said We’re off to get the paramedics
I set out at a rapid pace Which soon had me quite warm I reached the injured woman quickly She was lean and fit in her mid-40s Dressed in a singlet and running shorts She was laying on the wet ground Right beside the creek Her bare arms and legs were exposed To the damp and the chill February air Her lips were blue and her teeth were Chattering so badly I could Hardly understand her when she spoke She was shivering uncontrollably
I did my best not to appear too alarmed I looked at her feet Saw that her left ankle Was hideously swollen A good two or three times The size of her right one
Hi I’m Ken and I’m here To get you warm and Keep you company Until the paramedics arrive What’s your name? Despite her violent shivering She managed to stammer Dolores
Okay Dolores why don’t You put this windbreaker on and With your permission I’m going to Carefully remove your shoes Then I’m going help you Slide your legs into the sleeves Of this parka to help to warm you That will give you some insulation Against the damp ground Which is sucking heat out of you Is that okay with you?
Just be careful of my ankle please I promise I will be gentle I can see that it’s a bad sprain I managed to untie and Remove her sneakers I carefully guided her feet Into the sleeves of the parka And pulled it up under her So that her lower body Was no longer on the bare ground
Do you run here often? Several times a week I was on the King Mountain trail (King Mtn is the hill above the canyon) How long have you been laying here? Maybe half an hour or 45 minutes No wonder you’re freezing!
My husband is gonna kill me When he hears about this!
Let’s focus on getting you warm Before we worry about your husband I’m concerned about your shivering And the fact that your lips are blue I think I have a way to warm you up Is it okay if I put my hands On the bottom of your feet? I promise not to hurt your ankle
Anything that will warm me up Is okay with me I’ve never felt so cold!
I can see that you are quite chilled I am going to do some breathwork You don’t need to do anything You can just relax and if you want You can match your breath to mine
At this point I’d had about three years Of private chi kung lessons I knew I could generate A lot of heat for myself But I didn’t know if I could Use it to warm up another person
I knelt down and gently lifted Her feet into my lap Is this okay? She nodded yes I placed my hands flat against The soles of her feet
I’m just going to breath now My breaths will probably be Too deep to match exactly Why don’t you try taking two breaths For every one of mine? She nodded
I began to breathe as Deeply as I could Inhaling and exhaling through my nose While focusing on my belly I visualized a blazing fire filling my body With flames moving down my arms
After about 15 minutes of this Dolores stopped shivering Her lips returned to a normal color
Oh my god! Oh my god! I don’t know what you are doing But I am completely warm now I feel like I am sitting beside A roaring fire wrapped in a blanket! I am actually starting to sweat! How are you able to do this? This is totally amazing!
I can’t really explain it Dolores I have been training in an old Chinese art called chi kung It has properties that our way of thinking Lacks adequate language to describe But as you can see it works!
I could now hear the paramedics They would be there in a minute As I was still quite buzzed I didn’t want to be seen by them
I’m going to go now Dolores But do me a favor will you? Get yourself a good metal whistle And carry it with you when you run If you had sprained your ankle Up on King Mountain it might Have been hours before anyone Came along to find you You’re lucky you were down here On the canyon path which is Quite well traveled Will you do that?
That’s a great idea Thank you!
I’m going to leave you in good hands The paramedics are almost here You take care now I headed off down the trail Just as the paramedics arrived
Ken Homer • March 2024
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