Fire forges and links our lives. 

You see, Renny,
whatever image you reflect, is the image I receive...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      He didn't dodge waves. They couldn't be dodged. They were still
the ultimate unpredicatble. In fact -- waves were the essence of 
sailing, and rafting.

      It was their very unpredicatability that made them fascinating 
-- whether they emanated from river, or ocean. 

      And so, on that morning, he made the...21st (?) decision that 
this raft trip would be his last. He was tired...he was afraid of 
trusting young peoples' lives to his decisions.  

      He didn't even trust his own decisions regarding his own life.
How could he turn that trust to six high school students? He supposed,
at this point, the only reason he took these trips was Renny, the 
teacher students called "Renny Jay" and the one he called "florita 
dulce" (sweet flower).

      She had become his co-captain on the Green River trips, over the
years, and though they both had been married for twenty years not to 
one another, and each of them had children (him, three...her, two -- 
divided by a bizarre and cruel decision by an LA judge -- one lived 
with her, one lived with her husband). 
    
      They both loved the river. And they both took their jobs, in 
general (but in this case, very specifically -- face and name ...
and personal lives -- Jerome was dsylexic...Tashi was the victim
of atrocious sexual abuse by both parents) very seriously.