This is me jumping at Whistler B.C...summer of 2011. My 14 step-daughter filming. The trip was conceived and planned out by her to celebrate her boyfriends birthday.
To me, bungy-jumping is a separate animal...at least I classify it differently. The other activities are part of a larger process, that process takes time, and small or large corrections can be made as the perceived level of risk fluctuates. In other words, you can manage the risk, by bailing out, taking more precautions, setting up emergency procedures etc.
With bungy-jumping, you put all the risk management into the hands of someone you have never met before, someone who in my case is going to be less than half my age. Someone who is very friendly and outgoing, probably had granola and yogurt for breakfast, and forgot to comb their hair before coming in to work. Someone who is working at this job until something better comes along, or that opportunity to join in an Everest expedition opens up.
But more to the point, why do I enjoy the rush of jumping off a high bridge with a big elastic band tied to me?
The answer is simple...I use it to reaffirm life. To make that literal leap of faith into space, to trust another fellow human with you life and safety. To leave the old version of me behind and leap towards new possibilities. To scare the living crap out of myself and truly live in the moment. Even if in that moment, you have concerns about how how soon you will be meeting your maker in a splattering, spectacular, rag-doll fashion.
There's that magic moment when you leave the bridge. You let go of the rails and push of with your legs, and fly out into thin air. It all seems reasonable and logical when you are on the deck waiting for your turn. Every single person who goes off, survives the ordeal quite nicely...and returns with a huge face wide grin and speaking uncontrolled gibberish. Every one...with out fail. I know this, I know this well.
However....every single time that my feet leave the safety of the bridge deck....and I start accelerating downward...I have the same thoughts...
A. Well Mike ...that's pretty much the stupidest thing you've ever done...your cooked now.
B. What if it doesn't work this time? What if when we were talking and yucking it up...I never got tied in?
C. Was that harness really done up right?
D. This is exactly what I came here for.
My theory and plan is to bungy-jump every couple of years to re-kindle the passion for living, to celebrate life, to be with good friends and to scare myself silly.
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| Doing my "bird-man" imitation at the Nanaimo Bungy-Zone. I love diving off head first. It's completely unnatural to dive off a 160 ft. bridge with an elastic band and a prayer....it scares the crap out of me every time...and I love it! |
A note to people who haven't jumped yet.
1. All the people that I have met a the jump sites who greet you and set up your jumps, are fun, dedicated professionals who want you to enjoy yourself.
2. There is no pressure to make a jump, once you step out there. If you really need to, you could back out....I wouldn't recommend it....but it's easily possible and acceptable.
3. Don't eat a big meal before you jump. Two reasons....nervousness. ....and you will be spending some time upside down....a double cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake might not be a good idea.
4. If it seems expensive....let me assure you...it's worth every penny. You will never regret the money that you spend...buying you ticket to fly.
My second marriage took place at the Nanaimo Bungy-Zone. It was my wife's idea to have a ceremony and then do a tandem jump to seal the deal. What a perfect symbol of marriage and stepping into a new partnership. This is an entirely different story all together...
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