Niagara Falls
As a safety guy I kind of don't get the death defying stuff.
The Wallendas were back at it this week.
Erindira went above the falls in a copter. She stayed connected to it by her toes and then by her teeth. There were about 500 people there to watch it.
Then news broke that Kirk Jones had died, trying to go over the falls in an inflatable ball. He had been one of only four people who had survived an unprotected plunge.
That was back in 2004.
At the time he said that he did it to prove to himself that he could handle fear, and that it taught him to believe in himself. He said, at the time, that he was done with the Falls.
Being so close to dying had cured him of wanting to die.
Not sure what happened there.
He got into an inflatable ball and decided that he was gonna' bounce clear to the other side...
...he didn't stay in the ball.
And I've always wondered about the crowd watching one of those daredevil events is actually thinking.
Did they want to see Erindira come unglued and end up plunging to her death?
I watched Nic do his walk across the Falls a few years back...
...but he was tethered...
...which removed the drama a little.
I've known a few guys who've jumped out of airplanes.
Some were in the military so it was part of the job.
Yet I know a principal who did it.
And just last week another friend.
There are a bunch of safety precautions involved in doing something like that. You can control that a little!
Getting into a ball and hoping it all works out???
They estimate that about 5,000 people have died at the Falls.
40-50 people a year jump in on purpose every year.
As suicide spots go it pales in comparison to the Golden Gate Bridge.
I've lived in the area most of my life...
...I've been to the foot of the Falls so many times that there are times when I'm in the park and I don't even look.
Last year I worked with a contractor and a fall protection plan had to be developed so the crew didn't fall into the water.
The power is amazing.
Every guy in that crew imagined what it might feel like to take that ride.
Didn't take much to get them to cooperate at that project.
No one wanted to take that final ride..
...and yet some do it for fun.
What a 🌎
The Wallendas were back at it this week.
Erindira went above the falls in a copter. She stayed connected to it by her toes and then by her teeth. There were about 500 people there to watch it.
Then news broke that Kirk Jones had died, trying to go over the falls in an inflatable ball. He had been one of only four people who had survived an unprotected plunge.
That was back in 2004.
At the time he said that he did it to prove to himself that he could handle fear, and that it taught him to believe in himself. He said, at the time, that he was done with the Falls.
Being so close to dying had cured him of wanting to die.
Not sure what happened there.
He got into an inflatable ball and decided that he was gonna' bounce clear to the other side...
...he didn't stay in the ball.
And I've always wondered about the crowd watching one of those daredevil events is actually thinking.
Did they want to see Erindira come unglued and end up plunging to her death?
I watched Nic do his walk across the Falls a few years back...
...but he was tethered...
...which removed the drama a little.
I've known a few guys who've jumped out of airplanes.
Some were in the military so it was part of the job.
Yet I know a principal who did it.
And just last week another friend.
There are a bunch of safety precautions involved in doing something like that. You can control that a little!
Getting into a ball and hoping it all works out???
They estimate that about 5,000 people have died at the Falls.
40-50 people a year jump in on purpose every year.
As suicide spots go it pales in comparison to the Golden Gate Bridge.
I've lived in the area most of my life...
...I've been to the foot of the Falls so many times that there are times when I'm in the park and I don't even look.
Last year I worked with a contractor and a fall protection plan had to be developed so the crew didn't fall into the water.
The power is amazing.
Every guy in that crew imagined what it might feel like to take that ride.
Didn't take much to get them to cooperate at that project.
No one wanted to take that final ride..
...and yet some do it for fun.
What a 🌎
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