The 4th Craziest Thing I Have Ever Done.

          
                                                
                                                                                   #4 Jump off of a roof

   I know this could be a hazardous thing to be posting. So folks... Don’t try this one at home.

     I was in the Haliburton Highlands with two friends Atom and Ryan and we had a plan. It was to shovel the 2 feet of snow off the roof Atoms family cottage.  It was a great plan I thought, 2 nights at the cottage for a little hard work.

      When we arrived it was night time and the road was not maintained during the winter and we had to walk to the cottage from the road, sounded simple enough. Right?...  Wrong! This is not an easy feat, not when you are over 200 pounds carrying a case of beer. Every step I took I broke through the ice crust into snow up to my knees and I mean every step I recall saying "Just leave me here guys. Leave me for the bears! But first come and take this case of beer!" While my somewhat lighter friends skimmed right across the snow top.  Later as we settled in, we laughed about me yelling "to leave me for the bears" Having remembered bears hibernate in the winter.

     So getting back to how and why I jumped off this cottage roof.  Well, it was a beautiful day, sun was shining over the frozen lake and trees, the temperature was a balmy -2 degrees. (Northern Humour)The cottage radio was maxed out and so was my back. We had been shovelling the snow, for a few hours and we were tired. What made it worse was the beer was calling our names like a temptress. So we decided to let nature take its course with the other half.

      When we finally did quit I decided to do a Fred Flinstone type of departure from the roof. I had purposely made a pile of snow at the corner of the cottage trying to keep it off the deck. As I made my way over to the edge and looked over, I felt the urge to jump. Have you ever had that urge?  Like jumping off a cliff in to water, it’s a calculated risk. So I figured in my risk calculation that there was a big pile of snow. Snow is soft like a mattress I thought. So I figured chances were slim that I'd get hurt. (I may have been pushing my chances and luck too far)

      The adrenaline was pumping (I was shaking) and without hesitation I hopped off the roof, feet first. 13 ft straight down into the packing snow below! The fall was a lot quicker than I had thought. Luckily I was right and I did not get hurt. The snow cushioned my fall just enough, although I did bend awkwardly when my feet touched rock. I still give the landing a 7.0.

  What an adrenaline rush and a story worth telling. But... Would I do it again? Heck no people..... After ageing and becoming a parent, I have settled down a bit and take better calculated risks. I no longer try to put myself in harm’s way for the heck of it. (Key word being TRY.)

Stay Tuned for #3 Next Week