Recycled dinner party story

Once I went to a gathering in SE and immediately noticed a friend from N.pdx He wasn't really a friend because back then he would bring huge groups into the restaurant where I worked but would never leave servers a tip. Still he was a performer as was I so it was coolish.

That was then. Nowdays I was glad to see someone who knew "Classic Dingo" We reminisced (I found out Brazilians don't tip anyone) and then he told me a story.I mentioned getting lost on the way down from a water tower one drunken night. He told me a sober tale of driving a convertible on the Oregon coast. He was enjoying the nice day and nice scenery when he noticed a cliff. Where I'm from there is a beach. In Oregon it goes from land to Ocean usually with some kind of cliffs. My buddy thought what I may have thought "I'm gonna climb that cliff."

He found a place to put his car and set off. Everything was much larger in person than as seen from the road. He very confidentially ascended the rock face considering he was only rocking shorts and flip flops. Up he went until he could see his car and it looked like a toy. Then the rock composition changed.

The higher he got the more unstable the material. He would grab a hold and it would disintegrate in his hand. He was too far up to go down and the top was a ways away. He sat there looking at the sea and calming himself down.

Now he understood why people do this in groups and with climbing gear. Every move he made on the cliff was important. Any decision could be his last. He said he forced himself to be steady as he talked himself into being a precise operator up there. He made his way up to the last leap of faith. One last lunge would either be safety or he and the rock would plummet several stories onto the rocky waves below.

He kicked his flip flops off never to see them again and dangled there a long time waiting for something that wasn't going to happen (rescue). He was invisible from the road and nobody knew he was there. He swelled his courage and leaped for life.

Obviously he made it because he was able to tell a clown years later. Yes he made the jump. It was one of the happiest moments in his life. If he had panicked, he would be fish food. He was ecstatic until he understood he was only half done.

He still had to get back down the same way he got up. :) It's amazing what you can do if you know how to calm yourself down, also amazing what situations you can get into by jumping into things you know nothing about.