Limited Adventures

I consider myself to be adventurous but not of the extreme nature. On vacation to Belize I took the opportunity to swim in sting ray alley. It was unique to swim with the rays and to touch them as they glided around. I have road my bicycle in the mountains of north Georgia near Dahlonega. I do not always ride to the top of Hog Pen Gap but on those occasions I am thrilled. The climb to the top is difficult as my bike creeps along at 3 miles per hour but knowing the descent will make the effort worth while. The descent started quickly as the road dropped to a twelve percent grade which pushed me to reach speeds of 60 miles per hour. The next adventure I will participate in is hiking or climbing a 19,000 foot mountain called Kilimanjaro.

An adventure I can never participate in would be sky diving. Climbing Everest is not on my list but for different reasons. The cost is very prohibitive and my physical abilities would not allow me to survive. Sky diving on the other hand I can do physically but it is the mental aspects of the sport I do not believe I can over come. Depending on someone to pack the parachute correctly would be the first obstacle to overcome. Loading into the airplane would not be an issue unless it is a tight fit then claustrophobia would overwhelm me and I would have to leave the airplane. If I manage to stay in the airplane the biggest obstacle to overcome would be next. I think of walking to the door for the jump as my death march. I recall the cliché ‘why do I want to jump out of a perfectly fine airplane’. If the equipment does not work properly once I am outside the airplane I have no options but to plummet to the earth at terminal velocity. I will not dwell on that aspect due to the mental issues I am having just contemplating falling. My lack of desire to sky dive is not due to physical issues but having to overcome the mental hang-up associated with falling.

I have three friends that have sky dived. One loves the thrill and has completed over 50 dives. Another was so fear struck on the way down that he screamed the entire time. The last friend had completed three dives successfully but the fourth dive his parachute partially opened only slightly slowing his descent. He spent 6 months in the hospital as his body healed. I do not like the odds of having a pleasant experience.