Dear Elders, What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
Yours truly,
Knees knocking
Casper Kranenburg
Dear Knees Knocking,
Remember Brad Davis in the 1978 classic “Midnight Express”? Well, one daring adventure ended up almost like that for me. It happened in Punta del Este in Uruguay, a beautiful seaside resort with a spectacular beach and one main attraction: the Isla de Lobos (a protected island of sea lions or sea wolves), about 8 miles off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean. We had made a deal with a local boat owner to ferry us over there and back one day. The trip turned out to be a daring adventure as the fog on the day of our trip completely obscured our view (and the “Orca” had no radar, of course) and on the way back the engine conked out, so here we were bobbing in the storm on the Atlantic.
Four hours later we made it back and that is where the threat started – the captain wanted $100 for this trip and we had agreed on $20. He called the police, who took us in to the police station. Imagine this: Your passport is confiscated, you’re in a room where criminals have left their marks on the walls and you try to explain that you’re innocent. I saw my life ending in a foreign jail, locked up forever.
Turned out the police chief was born in Brooklyn and he eventually realized that the captain tried to rip us off, so after investigating both sides, our passports were returned and we were set free.
That same evening we left town, knees still knocking and looking over our shoulders to see if this crazy captain was following us.
Jan Stickler
Dear Knees Knocking,
The most daring thing I ever did was stall spins in a light airplane over Lake Champlain. It was actually my first airplane flight. (No, I was not the pilot.) I had gone up for a ride with a friend in a small two-seater and he asked if I would like to do spins. Since I had a fear of heights, I was surprised I had said yes to the ride and even more surprised when I said yes to the spins.
He pointed the nose upward and we climbed until the plane stalled. Then we did slow spins as we descended. Fortunately, the engine restarted when it was asked to respond. I still remember the incredible silence as we slowly twirled in the sky; the sun streaming through the cockpit and the blue of the lake revolving around us. I can’t remember how many spins we did, but it was a high number. If I had chickened out, I would have missed a memorable experience. Sometimes, you just gotta go for it.
Bill Twibill
Dear Knees Knocking,
The most daring thing I have ever done has to be when three years ago when I agreed to be an Elder adviser for the recently introduced Insider. My life changed from the very first advice column. I’m famous and recognized all over the Concord area. Flocks of fans follow me everywhere I go, screaming for a photo-op and autographs, doors to the shops on Main Street – especially Butters – are held open by customers when the staff tells the customers to “hold the door for the Elders.” When I push my shopping cart in the markets, strange, but very nice, people say hello to me or look strangely at me as if they are saying to themselves, “Where do I know him from?”
I now wear dark glasses and flower Hawaiian shirts with a big Panama hat to have some privacy. Oops! I should never have told you that. . . . Now I must find a new disguise. Maybe I’ll get an agent and syndicate my advice. Look out, Hollywood, here I come.
Roioli Schweiker
Dear Knees Knocking,
“Daring” never interested me. I always wanted to know what I was doing. When I was interested in rock climbing, whitewater canoeing, winter mountaineering etc., I learned how to do them safely from experts before doing them with my friends and family. That led to a lack of “exciting adventures,” but rather a pleasant return home.
Perhaps the closest to your definition was driving across the center of Afghanistan in the 1960s. We were the only western party able to make the trip in the three summers we were there. There was the highest drivable mountain pass, mechanical breakdowns (Bob was a good mechanic, and I made cookies for the men helping) and fording a large river, but I had been on similar trips as a child helping dig our way across the dry washes and mud in the western United States. We arrived home in Kabul in good shape at the time expected.
Probably the most daring thing anyone can do is sign a paper without reading it, including the fine print!
