Flying High

Greetings,

Long-time member of our Merry Band, Albert from San Diego way, sent me a photo of the newly opened Skywalk in the Grand Canyon. Albert it was who alerted me to this some time back,  when it was just a drawing on some sadistic architect's board. But now it's a reality, Boys and Girls, and you can see it in all its terrifying glory here. 

Reading through the blurb on the website, it's hard not to think "Overkill" ... The bridge, we're told, has been built to take the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747 planes. Ummm ... have a look at the bridge and tell me if you think it would be a tad difficult to get one 747 on it, let alone 7!

Yes, I know this isn't really meant as a runway (the planes would go round in circles for a start) ... it's just for comparison ... but I still think it's overkill. How many people do they think are going to be on it at any one time, I wonder. And just how big are some of these people going to be?

Reading further, I was relieved to see that the bridge itself was constructed on terra firma before being edged into the void. Can you imagine what it would have been like working on that if it had been dangling over the precipice? Egad! The mere thought of it makes my head go funny. 

But it's all right because, "Construction crews spent two years building the walkway. They drilled steel anchors 46 feet into the limestone rim to hold the deck in place. Earlier this month, they welded the Skywalk to the anchors after pushing it past the edge using four tractor trailers and an elaborate system of pulleys." And, "The observation deck has a 3-inch-thick glass bottom and has been equipped with shock absorbers to keep it from bouncing like a diving board as people walk on it."

What about that "welding" part, though? That's still a bit of a worry because welding, after all, is just sticking bits of things together, isn't it? 

Gulp ... 4,000 feet above the canyon floor? And all that stands between you and it is a couple of bits of metal stuck together?

The first people to walk -- "gingerly," we're informed -- on the Skywalk were four Hualapai Indian leaders and astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, and don't you wish you'd been there to hear this comment?

'"I can hear the glass cracking!" Hualapai Chairman Charlie Vaughn said playfully.'

Oh, how they must have laughed!

Visitors are issued with slip-on booties to help protect the glass surface, which has already suffered some damage, it seems: "The top layer of the deck's surface has already been replaced once after rain water seeped in between the glass panels and fouled the view." And it only opened in March ... that's a mere 2 tiny months ago ...

If you can't get there for a tour yourself, or if, like me, you prefer to just read about dangling in space, the wonders of modern technology allow you to still take in the view (without having to wear funny shoes) here.  

You'll find more images here. (Take a look at image 4 and tell me if you agree with me that this picture is wrong on so many levels it's just not funny!)

People who won't enjoy this walk are those who suffer from acrophobia. This word comes from the Greek akros meaning 'topmost, highest' and phobos "fear; panic."

This week's quiz:

See how many of these phobias you have:

mysophobia, dendrophobia, herpetophobia, amaxophobia, trypanophobia, glossophobia, equinophobia, genuphobia, ophidiophobia, tonitrophobia

1. fear of knees 

2. a morbid fear of dirt or contamination 

3. fear of trees 

4. fear of horses 

5. fear of injections 

6. fear of reptiles 

7. fear of thunder 

8. fear of riding in cars 

9. fear of snakes 

10. fear of public speaking 

And an old story about how to cure a phobia ...

A man went to a psychiatrist for his phobia.

"Doctor," he said, "I've got trouble. Every time I get into bed, I think there's somebody under it. I get under the bed, I think there's somebody on top of it. Top, under, top, under. You have to help me, I'm going crazy!"

"Just put yourself in my hands for two years," said the psychiatrist. "Come to me three times a week, and I'll cure your fears."

"How much do you charge?"

"A hundred dollars per visit."

"I'll sleep on it," said the man.

Six months later the doctor met the man on the street.

"Why didn't you ever come to see me again?" asked the psychiatrist.

"For a hundred buck's a visit? A bartender cured me for ten dollars."

"Is that so! How?"

"He told me to cut the legs off the bed!"

Last week's quiz:

Archives

Did you know that every newsletter is archived? So if you've missed anything since 1998 or want to revisit some favourites, you can do so any time!  

Don't forget to bookmark the page when you get there ... or even make it your Home Page. (For Internet Explorer, just click on Tools ... Internet Options ... General ... fill in www.write101.com/archives/index.htm and click OK. For Netscape, select Edit ... Preferences. Then select Navigator from the left menu, click Home Page and enter the URL above next to Location and click OK. For all the flash new browsers, you'll have to do a search on my mate google to find what to do. There's a search box on the archives page!)

Subscribe Here and Be Bribed!

If you've received this little missive from a friend, you can get your very own issue, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed every Friday morning by clicking here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogrups.com And I'm even prepared to offer a shameless bribe.  

Never-Ending Story

An Ape that wants to play Hamlet after being type-cast as King Kong, a talking anvil and that rottweiller ... Dr Morgenes is still caught in the nightmare that is the casting couch. Help him find a plot!  Just click on the Comments button at the end of the entry to add your contribution. If you have friends who fancy themselves as writers, invite them to contribute (just forward this newsletter in its entirety to them).

Map of the World