OT: What's the most DANGEROUS thing . . .
From Pop-PoP, a bit on the male side of risk-taking:
Well, there was Vietnam and a year as a military combat reporter - it was way scary, but fantastic too, and gave me a jump-start on my communications career. Surviving a helicopter crash, a few fire-fights and mortar attacks. But it wasn't the scariest thing....
At my high school, we traded the nickname "Crash" depending on who had most recently 'avoided hitting a deer," after a Friday night party. BTW - did you know that the wheel-base of 49 thru 51 Chevys is so close to the standard width of a railroad track, that you can align your car on the tracks, let a little air ouf of the tires and take a moonlight ride w/out steering - but when the car comes off the track a quarter mile from the highway you tend to lose things - your exhaust system, your oil pan and most of the other stuff on the bottom of the car. Enough Gallo and you don't care that much until the next day. But that wasn't the scariest thing....
Then there's the Cath Lab during my heart procedure when I'm blissfully zonked, but still awake and watching lead-suit-covered aliens work on ME and there's my beating heart on the monitors and there's the blockage - and I cry, not because I'm scared but because it can be fixed and I probably won't die as my father did at 47 and my brother at 52. But that's wasn't the scariest thing...
For me, it's a tie. The scariest night of my life was the night my ex-wife and I parted and I realized that I now had to figure out how I was going to be an absentee father to my daughters...
The scariest day of my life? The first day I had my own classroom. At 50, I had quit my board-room job and earned a Masters in Teaching at Johns Hopkins. I had done a full-year internship and couldn't have been better prepared. But there I was with my own classroom and six periods of high school students to teach. That was scary.
(Can I brag a bit: I was chosen as First Year Teacher of the Year in the 40,000-student school system where I taught for the next 12 years.)
This was fun - now to the treadmill and the country tunes. Pop-pop
Well, there was Vietnam and a year as a military combat reporter - it was way scary, but fantastic too, and gave me a jump-start on my communications career. Surviving a helicopter crash, a few fire-fights and mortar attacks. But it wasn't the scariest thing....
At my high school, we traded the nickname "Crash" depending on who had most recently 'avoided hitting a deer," after a Friday night party. BTW - did you know that the wheel-base of 49 thru 51 Chevys is so close to the standard width of a railroad track, that you can align your car on the tracks, let a little air ouf of the tires and take a moonlight ride w/out steering - but when the car comes off the track a quarter mile from the highway you tend to lose things - your exhaust system, your oil pan and most of the other stuff on the bottom of the car. Enough Gallo and you don't care that much until the next day. But that wasn't the scariest thing....
Then there's the Cath Lab during my heart procedure when I'm blissfully zonked, but still awake and watching lead-suit-covered aliens work on ME and there's my beating heart on the monitors and there's the blockage - and I cry, not because I'm scared but because it can be fixed and I probably won't die as my father did at 47 and my brother at 52. But that's wasn't the scariest thing...
For me, it's a tie. The scariest night of my life was the night my ex-wife and I parted and I realized that I now had to figure out how I was going to be an absentee father to my daughters...
The scariest day of my life? The first day I had my own classroom. At 50, I had quit my board-room job and earned a Masters in Teaching at Johns Hopkins. I had done a full-year internship and couldn't have been better prepared. But there I was with my own classroom and six periods of high school students to teach. That was scary.
(Can I brag a bit: I was chosen as First Year Teacher of the Year in the 40,000-student school system where I taught for the next 12 years.)
This was fun - now to the treadmill and the country tunes. Pop-pop
Well, I went sky diving. Jumped out of a perfectly good airlpane twice! The first time I was thinking too much and didn't have enough time to enjoy the view. And the first time, I had my mouth open when I landed and chipped a front tooth. Also, I wasn't really strong enough to pull the handles down all the way past my butt. That is what slows you down and helps you land where you want to land. So I overshot the landing spot. So you can see why I really needed to do it a second time.
It wasn't a tandem jump, it was a jump with a static line. In other words, I jumped alone, but the line was hooked to the plane so the chute opened automatically.
I was 45 years old and went with my son and his second wife. That was back when we were still talking. I would recommend it to everyone!
I was the good daughter, my Sis was the wild child! Plus I got married at 18, so I didn't have much time to be crazy!
It wasn't a tandem jump, it was a jump with a static line. In other words, I jumped alone, but the line was hooked to the plane so the chute opened automatically.
I was 45 years old and went with my son and his second wife. That was back when we were still talking. I would recommend it to everyone!
I was the good daughter, my Sis was the wild child! Plus I got married at 18, so I didn't have much time to be crazy!
Grammylew in Jax
I don't know about conciously doing anything dangerous as in life threatening but I guess retiring from my job of 36 years where I was well known thru young adulthood, motherhood, divorcehood, WLShood and getting olderhood and moving across country to a new full time job in a state I had been in for just once for the interview could fit that description!
I think that is the longest sentence I have ever written! LOL
I've been in dangerous situations before.
I think too all of us made a concious dangerous decision to have WLS. We had to decide if it was worth dying for.
Karen it would terrify me to go on the hot air balloon, but I would go as long as I have something sturdy to hang onto and a friend to keep my courage up. Give me a year or so and I'll be there GF!
I think that is the longest sentence I have ever written! LOL
I've been in dangerous situations before.
I think too all of us made a concious dangerous decision to have WLS. We had to decide if it was worth dying for.
Karen it would terrify me to go on the hot air balloon, but I would go as long as I have something sturdy to hang onto and a friend to keep my courage up. Give me a year or so and I'll be there GF!
I've been so busy today but this question has been on my mind. I guess the scariest things that I've done by choice involved speaking in front of large groups of people and chairing meetings about students when I was new and insecure about my skill. I was also petrified about driving alone in San Francisco untill I did it enough times to calm down. My scariest things were involuntary... getting lost in Oakland by myself while trying to find my Aunt's funeral, flipping my car off a cliff and rolling to the ground, and handling the cancer stuff. All is good.... have fun Karen!
Julia
Julia
Karen,
I've zip-lined in Honduras, parasailed in Pompano Beach, taken a hot air balloon ride over red rocks of Sedona at the buttcrack of dawn and loved every one of them. I've snorkled twice now and I'm ready to do it again. I've taken a helicopter ride with just me and the pilot through and around the jungles of Panama and hotshot down the river. But probably the scariest thing was the cab ride in Colombia when the cab driver told everyone he'd charge them only $20 but he got to keep the little redhead.
I'm trying and thinking that skydiving is my next big adventure. There are six of us thinking we might get a group rate at one of the airports here. You won't be by yourself on the hot air balloon ride. There will be a basket full of you. Just make sure you get in front and not in the middle. It's safe, easy, fun, and oh so exhilerating to be up in the air!! You will meet and they will take you out in the desert and there will be several balloons. I went with Northern Lights. They were pretty good. Call and see if they are still around. I went in 2002.
Just do it. Mike can ask to be in the pick-up car. It's an adventure you don't want to miss.
Janet
I've zip-lined in Honduras, parasailed in Pompano Beach, taken a hot air balloon ride over red rocks of Sedona at the buttcrack of dawn and loved every one of them. I've snorkled twice now and I'm ready to do it again. I've taken a helicopter ride with just me and the pilot through and around the jungles of Panama and hotshot down the river. But probably the scariest thing was the cab ride in Colombia when the cab driver told everyone he'd charge them only $20 but he got to keep the little redhead.
I'm trying and thinking that skydiving is my next big adventure. There are six of us thinking we might get a group rate at one of the airports here. You won't be by yourself on the hot air balloon ride. There will be a basket full of you. Just make sure you get in front and not in the middle. It's safe, easy, fun, and oh so exhilerating to be up in the air!! You will meet and they will take you out in the desert and there will be several balloons. I went with Northern Lights. They were pretty good. Call and see if they are still around. I went in 2002.
Just do it. Mike can ask to be in the pick-up car. It's an adventure you don't want to miss.
Janet
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