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My Turn
by

Wayne Chan

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #9 (September 1, 2025), page 6.

A different rite of passage

They call it a rite of passage. But that’s not exactly it.

What many refer to as a rite of passage is a very specific time in life that just a few words immediately brings on a flood of memories. A Sweet 16 party. The first time driving a car. A first kiss. Nothing else needs to be said. It all becomes fresh in one’s mind.

I’m now in my 60s. Long past a rite of passage. And yet, I’m still going through a kind of transition. It’s a period of not knowing where I’m going until I get there, and it all happened while I was on vacation — whitewater rafting, as a matter of fact.

I may not show it much, but during my life I’ve been the type of person who wants to truly experience everything life has to offer. Life is an adventure, and to not take advantage of it is just a wasted opportunity. Every experience has the potential to become a once-in-a-lifetime memory. So I’ve challenged myself in a number of ways in my life. I’ve gone zip-lining. Hang gliding? Check. Jumped off cliffs? Check. Borrowed bikes and explored all of Beijing on our own in the 1980s despite our wholly inadequate Chinese language skills and before iPhones and GPS? Double check.

But truth be told, over the last couple years, I have become a lot more risk-averse. In the past, I’ve typically gone on a guys’ ski trip every year, but the last two years I skipped it. Not really out of fear, but more of a "been there, done that" kind of attitude. I’ve never been injured skiing, but lately I started thinking, why endure all the effort and hassle of putting on all that equipment and also deal with the possibility of getting hurt?

So, it was with that same attitude I went into our recent whitewater rafting excursion.

I’ve gone whitewater rafting before — nearly 30 years ago. I remember jumping out of the raft, climbing up cliffs, and gleefully jumping off said cliffs into the rapids below. I can still almost feel the splash of the freezing rapids as the water hit my face and then feeling the surge of steaming water as we swam over to the natural hot springs along the edge of the river. It’s been almost three decades since that trip and I still remember every aspect of it.

This time? We headed down the Squamish River, not too far from Whistler, Canada. We went down class 4 rapids in our raft with six of our best friends. Our rafting guides — a group of 20-something young people — were cracking jokes about the trip, some claiming it was their first week of being guides themselves and hoping they wouldn’t lose anyone like they did yesterday. It was all in good fun.

Then, our guide said, "If anyone would like to jump out and float alongside the raft down the rapids, here’s your chance." My buddies Bill and Stan, eyes wide open, jumped at the chance and plunged into the water.

Me? I sat quietly in the boat thinking, "It’s going to be freezing! I’ve done this before! Been there, done that! I’m staying in the boat!"

After Stan and Bill climbed back into the boat, they gave each other high fives like they both scored a touchdown. They’ve both gone whitewater rafting before, too, but their joy and excitement from jumping in was like it was their first time as well.

A few minutes later, our guide says, "Here’s another chance for you to jump in if you want to, but the water is even colder this time!" Stan and Bill get ready to abandon the boat again, while all I can think is, "It’s even colder now???"

But then I paused for a moment and thought, "Thirty years from now, am I going to look back on this trip and relive the moment that I DIDN’T jump into the water? What kind of memories do you create when you don’t take a chance?"

I laid down my oar and got to the edge of the raft. One of our group looked at me and said, "You’re going in?!?"

That was all the encouragement I needed.

SPLASH!

I drifted alongside the raft in freezing water while my head was bobbing above the surface, until it was time to get out. I got pulled back in, and my friend said, "You looked miserable out there!"

Miserable? The water was freezing. I definitely snorted down a nose full of glacier water and it’s possible I banged my head against the side of the raft. While I might have looked miserable soaking in freezing temperatures in my wet suit and booties, miserable is not the word I would use. "Exhilarated" might be a better word.

I’ll let you know for sure in thirty years.

Humor writer Wayne Chan lives in the San Diego area;

cartoonist Wayne Chan is based in the Bay Area.

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My Turn by

Wayne Chan

My Turn
by