FRIGHT FREAKS
The last time I looked in on him on TV, a man was still standing on a twenty-two inch
square platform atop a ninety foot pillar in Bryant Park in New York City. He was going to
remain there overnight, I understand, after which he would jump into a pile of empty
cardboard containers on the ground below him. He has, I’ve been told, done this
particular dive before, but only from a forty-foot height. That bellywhoper resulted in minor
harm to his body.
I suppose he must still be on that column this morning. Or, he may have made his
dive successfully. Otherwise, the TV tubes would be bubbling by now with the froth of
fright-gone-wrong for all.
This same guy has been encased in ice for several days and lived; he has also being
buried six foot under the ground for a few days, he’s used to whatever happens.
I have learned on a thing or two from this stunt, among them a point which has
always bothered me with such displays. Diane Sawyer, of ABC-TV asked him if he wore a
catheter at such times. Yes, he does. Mother Nature demands that much, I suppose. I
glad to know that bit of sanitation information.
I do not know the man’s name.
Do you recall the name of the man who walked a wire strung between the two
former Trade Towers in New York City years ago?
Whoever he is, or was, he doesn’t have to worry about anyone else breaking his record.
Who would ever want to do so puzzles me.
Evil Knievel made a name for himself years ago jumping motorcycles over things
and places - cars and canyons - with bone shattering success.
‘Way back we had gladiators at the local arena on a regular schedule, some under
duress and others, presumably, in the business for kicks. In our more modern circus we have
had trapeze artists and others defying natural laws often as edited by Death’s cruel pen.
If we chose to believe statistics available which make us more aware of mortality or
injuries from automobiles, we’d all be walking to work each morning. Then, upon reading
other charts which show that one of the most dangerous things you might do would be
to walk to work, you might decide to stay at home and call in sick for the day - sick of
scary stats..
This is a free country, remember. If some people choose to do some freakish acts
which seem to endanger their own lives, they have a right to do, as long or as much as
they think they can get by doing it.
Just why and how it can be considered an entertainment attraction for the rest of
us is another point for consideration.
A.L.M. May 23, 2002 [c475wds]
