Challenges

I heard on the radio that the government was probably going to shut down nonessential functions as a result of last minute budget wrangling. I shook my head, thinking of all the lower echelon workers who would suffer as a result of the inept leadership not getting the job done when they should have. Of course, there will be no bump in the road for those who botched it and will continue to live the good life at our expense.

Then, I almost went off the road as it dawned on me that I was also on the pointed end of the screw. Many months before, I had planned a kayak expedition, reserving an area controlled by the National Park Service. I had ten people who had put in for vacation time and were about to drive a thousand miles to enjoy it. Or not.

A good part of the next 48 hours was spent coming up with a solution. I emailed the contingency plan to the group. They responded with approvals and compliments. Don seems to like to employ observations and, in this case, added that I enjoy stuff like this.

Guilty. I like a challenge or a puzzle. In a case like this, I analyze the situation, define the problem and generate potential solutions for prioritizing.

The first step included investigating if this truly applied to us. We were using a remote and primitive area that required no services from government personnel. I called the ranger station and was told that the entire area would be closed and that we would be prohibited from using it.

That answered the principal question but raised another. If all the personnel were furloughed, who’d be there to arrest or evict us? I found an article that alluded to the last time we experienced a shutdown. Many people entered park space anyway. I toyed with the idea of going renegade. No, I wasn’t going to take responsibility for leading others into that situation.

The problem crystallized as finding a place on a par with the one I had reserved. I had spent long months identifying the perfect spot and wasn’t going to allow myself the excuse of the shutdown to lower the bar.

Unfortunately, the feds control much of the pristine locations on the Florida coast. State and commercial facilities tend to cater to the RV tourists because that’s where the bucks are. And, we were also competing for space with spring breakers.

On top of that, the shutdown wasn’t a certainty. I needed to find a spot where I could not only make a reservation on short notice, but cancel it if there was an eleventh hour breakthrough in the budget negotiations.

No such animal existed, or at least not one I could find. However, I had located two facilities with the desirable traits. Could I negotiate the right terms of reservation? Both were government entities so I didn’t anticipate much flexibility.

Faint heart never won fair maiden. I had to take my best shot and used our sob story as the sales hook. It didn’t hurt that one of the managers I approached detested the feds. Success!

As it turned out, the threat of the shutdown evaporated at the last minute and we were good to go with the original location. It had been a hair-pulling couple days.

But, Don was right. In spite of the angst, I did enjoy pulling it off.