[at-l] at a loss but answering

[janl2@mindspring.com (Jan Leitschuh)]

Hi Lamar/Hopeful,

	I deeply appreciate your afforts to put lone female hikers at ease. You
sound like a gentleman in the classic sense of the word.
Actually, what you do is what great animal trainers do.

> For what it's worth, I've found that
> certain "postures" seem to ease initial tensions. When meeting a lone
> female hiker, I keep a certain distant from her, maybe six feet. I'm
> within conversation distance but I'm not invading her space. I will put
> down my pack and sit or I'll take the down hill side. I try to working
> into the early part of conversation how supportive my wife is of my
> hiking habit and how much I appreciate her. I talk about my family. I'll
> usually ask for a trail name but nothing else.

	This is truly "paying attention." (You could become a good horseman, if
you had the desire - when your feet/knees burn out... Good horsemanship
is no more than deeply paying attention and recgnizing the nature of
defensiveness).
	The desire to be harmless is also the root of empathy! Or vice versa.
Haven't fully figured that one out yet. It works both ways.
	The bottom line, it seems to me, is respect. Tell 'em, Aretha.

	Best,
	Jan Leitschuh


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    Jan Leitschuh Sporthorses Ltd.

http://www.mindspring.com/~janl2

E-mail:  mailto:janl2@mindspring.com

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