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Blogs by Betty Anne Grillo
SUNDAY SILLIES 07-01-2012 7/1/2012 11:17:44 AM
Bungee jumping for old ladies
Bungee jumping for old ladies
Now that’s what I’m talking about
I have a few things to share with you that people who have met me personally already know: I can be quite the contradiction. I once jumped out of a car at an intersection to yell at a real “Hell’s Angel” for cutting me off in traffic because my very young children were in the car. In my mind I jumped immediately to the place where one of my children could have been injured, and I was there to protect them. That act of valor (stupidity) on my part, that surely drew confusion from the biker (this lady must be crazy if she’s yelling at me), prompted an apology from him that I will never forget. “Lady, I’m sorry—I’ll never do it again”. He backed away from me sheepishly, and politely got on his bike and waved me ahead of him to make my left turn. He was transformed in just a heart-beat from an imposing threat to a real-life teddy bear. I must warn you: I do not promote the type of behavior I exhibited that day—DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
On the other hand, WHAT A RUSH! I faced the lion and it retreated!
Oh baby! Give me some more of that!
Here’s another side of me: I bungee jumped from a 171 foot tower (17 stories) above a swimming pool when I went to Las Vegas for my dear niece’s wedding not too long ago. But I will not participate in any activity that poses the threat of breaking one of my nails. Like bowling.
No. There will be absolutely no bowling for me.
Imagine being my Mother! She tells me I was an easy child to raise, until I turned 40! Well, I guess I had a lot of wild activities to catch up on by then. One thing I can tell you: the fear of bungee jumping never entered my mind. I was more fearful that my plane could crash on the way to Vegas and I’d never get the chance to bungee jump.
I had that chance, thank goodness, and I took it with absolute pleasure. My son and niece jumped off of that looming tower before I did (one of them happy to do it, the other one feeling that a personal challenge had been issued). Actually the worst part of the experience was stepping on that hideous scale! Thankfully they measured our weight in kilos, and the number scrawled on my hand was approximately half of what it would have been if measured in pounds. Funny, I even felt thinner when I read that number!
I moved bravely into the bungee-jumping position with both of my feet hanging off of the platform, balancing on my heels precariously. I was then instructed to wait until the moderator gave me the countdown to fall forward and allow gravity to take me plunging toward the earth. He was going to county to three, and I was going to do it!
Keep in mind that you are the star of your own bungee-jumping video when you push the envelope and take that free fall jump from the tower. And jump I did! I screamed the entire way down… And I Quote—“NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” No fear, no doubts, no tears…just yelling at the top of my lungs with more excitement and sheer joy than I had ever experienced in my life.
After hanging like a piece of meat from a butcher’s hook for what seemed like an eternity, I was safely removed from the bungee harness, and my feet touched terra firma. I realized when I took my first step that I hadn’t anticipated that bungee jumping could injure me. I knew I could die, but I hadn’t acknowledged in my brain that I could somehow break an ankle!Fortunately I didn’t break any bones, but I did hobble around Las Vegas for the next six days—happy to share my bruised ankle and bungee jumping story with anyone who would listen.
The operator of the bungee company announced to the waiting crowd when I was leaving the building that I had jumped with no fear, and that I demonstrated the ultimate way to bungee jump. My only statement to him was: “I thought you were going to count to 3—but you never did!”
His answer to me was “Lady, you jumped on number 1! I didn’t even make it to number 3!”
NOW THAT IS THE WAY TO BUNGEE JUMP—and an awesome way to learn to live without holding back!
