Up the Wailua River there’s a rope swing attached to a tree that overhangs the river. There were a couple tricky things about this rope swing:
1)You had to climb up pretty high on the tree in order to grab the rope at the right place;
2) It was really muddy and we were wet, so stepping up the ladder was very slippery;
3) The tree was in the way when you jumped- you had to push yourself out and around;
4) There was a man in his 50′s who had just done it and was watching us- so there was no turning back!
Jim very bravely followed our friend Jamie. Now I must take a minute and emphasize that Jim is NOT the type of person who ordinarily goes jumping out of trees. He’s not a very risky person but with the advent of 99 New Things, he seems to have adopted a new philosophy in life that makes him much more adventurous, care-free, and I must admit, a lot more fun!
I, on the other hand, am much more likely to take a risk like this, especially if someone else (ie. a guy) is going to prove that it’s possible. I can’t resist. I’m pretty competitive with these types of things. So not only did our friend jump, but then Jim did (actually he braved it twice), and that meant that I couldn’t very well back out, no matter how nervous I was. Go peer pressure! The longer I hung out on that tree, the shakier I got and more nervous I became.
So here’s my lesson of the day: If you’re going to do something stupid anyway, don’t spend anytime thinking about it!