Friday, January 18, 2013

What goes up, Must come down

A little short story for fun. Just trying to get back into the writing swing of things. If anyone still reads my blog enjoy.
What goes up, must come down
As I climb up the backside of the garage, which is built into a small hill in my friend’s backyard, I gaze in wide wonder at my surroundings. I, who am but a small and insignificant creature to all the largeness surrounding me, am about to undertake a grand and bold adventure. In my hands, the instrument of my upcoming greatness or so I perceive at the time. I am convinced that not only will my new undertaking provide me with thrills but also unmitigated awe from all my friends who eagerly await the results below. The great thing about being a child is the unending goal of grand exploration which probably explains why at the time I thought it was perfectly acceptable to use the ladder propped against the back of the garage to ascend the airy peak of the garage roof. As previously stated the garage was built into the back of a hill which means that in the back it is only one story tall but in the front it is a glorious two story drop to the pavement below.
            I can still remember the feeling, I have had it several times in my life since then, that feeling of thrilling excitement coursing through my body, heightening my senses and brightening all the colors of the spectrum. But also that small tremor of fear that tickles the backside of your brain where all your doubts reside. That small and often ignored voice of common sense lamely trying to squeak out its warning through the pulse pounding excitement in your head.  I often refer to that voice and fear as my inner Darwin warning me of the dangers of natural selection. But alas I ignore it more often than not which will ultimately prove to be of great detriment through the later years of my life.
            As a child I understood the basic principles of gravity, being a young boy how could I not. I run and jump and climb and ultimately fall, so this theory of gravity is nothing new to me. But a seed has been planted, a whole new idea of gravity and how I just might be able to defeat it. What is this seed I speak of, why parachutes of course. Having been regaled by my grandfather’s glorious stories of his career and exploits as a paratrooper in the Army I have been introduced to a whole new idea of falling. Grown men, much bigger than myself routinely strap parachutes onto their bodies and fling themselves out of perfectly good airplanes. And so that is what has invaded my head on this bright and sunny summer afternoon. For you see, my illustrious grandfather has sent me a present, my very own parachute. It is much smaller than the ones used by the Army but in my infinite wisdom I have concluded that I do not need such a large parachute as I am small also. Years later my mother still blames my grandfather for this series of events.
            As I stand poised above my awe inspired friends below I take one last sweeping gaze at my surroundings and prepare to leap into history. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, or so the story goes. At the very last second a small peep form my inner Darwin squeaks out “this is not a good idea”. But before I lose my nerve, I leave the roof in one big step, and plummet like a rock to the demise of my much anticipated summer of running and jumping and climbing. Because after my very brief descent I slam into the concrete with an unceremonious crunch followed by an unbelievable pain as my leg informs me that it has broken in two. And so my adventure and my summer vacation ended almost as quickly as it had begun with my friends standing in wide eyed and awe inspired wonder at my crumpled form.
Years later these were the memories that came to my mind as I found myself standing in the back of an Army transport plane flying high above the lush green forests of Ft. Benning, Georgia  preparing to hurl myself from a perfectly good airplane. Darwin be damned.