This is a story about the trip I took to Yosemite with my daughter, Eleonor, and my niece, Hannah. This was supposed to be a one-part story, but an event happened at the airport in Dallas that changed everything. And now the story.
Part One
I started writing this while sitting in the San Jose airport and finished up as we landed in Albuquerque. In San Jose, Ellie and Hannah sang the Happy Birthday song to me. Man, what a crazy few days I’ve had. I’m so sore it hurts to blink.
As some of you know, each year on my birthday my present to myself is to make a memory I’ll never forget. I do these things because I know I’m closer to the end than the beginning. I also want to set a good example for my kids and show them that it’s never too late to be the person you always wanted to be.
Last year Ellie and I went paragliding off the top of a 10,000-foot mountain. This year we went to Yosemite. Why? Well, about a year ago my niece, Hannah, mentioned that she would love to go on a “real” hike. Well, it doesn’t get any real-er than climbing Half Dome in Yosemite.
So what’s Half Dome? It starts with a fairly steep 8.5-mile hike that if you can make it through that, you have officially earned the right to pull yourself up a 45 to 60 degree, 900-foot slope using two wire cables. Those cables scared the crap out of me. The video was hilarious. I’m breathing so hard it sounds like Darth Vader is the videographer. After I bleep out all of the dirty words I said to myself like, “WTF am I doing” I might share the video. One thing I know for sure is if I ever do this again I will be wearing a harness and tether. That was nuts. It’s one thing to risk your own life, but Ellie and Hannah were up here. Once while my sister was on a mission trip, I was babysitting her dog. Long story short, the dog got out and was run over and killed. I’m guessing that explaining you accidentally got your niece killed would be a bit more difficult than telling your sister about the death of her dog while in your care. Anyway, back to the hike and climb. Other issues that complicated matters was a wildfire in the park. The smoke was dense and hung like a fog. In fact, at about 6pm the evening before the climb, the guide company called and canceled the trip because of the smoke. Luckily, I talked them back into at least meeting us so we could get the climbing permits. One way or another we were going to climb the mountain.
Our guide met us at 6am the next morning. After a ton of verbal warnings and making us all give a Scouts Oath to stop the climb and come back down on her command, we were off. The hike and climb took about 11-hours. I was so proud of the girls. A trip like this is grueling for well-trained hikers, so for these two to make it is huge. And since I’m a big fat fraidy-cat of heights, it was a test for me too. We finished the adventure about 5:15pm. We celebrated with a shower and pizza. When we went to bed it was still light outside. The girls said I was asleep by 7:30pm. I was beat.
This morning we woke up and we were all sore. Every time we made a move you would hear a groan. I’m so sore that after my shower this morning the combination of bending at the waist and lifting my leg was more than I could take. You know you’ve reached your limit when you can’t even put on your underwear.
So now the birthday adventure is coming to an end. I’m heading back to what most outdoor enthusiast would call the money-making robot life. I don’t resent it. In fact, I’m thankful for it. I love my job. I know that there’s more to life than making a buck. In my job, I get to teach and maybe even inspire a few people from time to time. Really, that’s why I do it. It’s also tough and getting tougher every day. I love a good challenge. All that said though, every time I go into the mountains, it gets more difficult to come out. Someday I have a feeling I’ll go in and not come out, but today is not that day. Hey, it’s my birthday.
For everyone who wished me a happy birthday, I would like to say thank you for being a friend. I appreciate you more than you know. And by the way, if you are ever in need of a wingman for a birthday adventure you let me know. I’ll be your wingman. If you’re crazy enough to do it, I’m crazy enough to follow. Yesterday we were about 4-miles out from our finish when we came upon this river that ran right beside the trail. We had a guy from Scotland, Chris, that climbed with us. It was hot and Chris said, “Maybe we should take a swim.” I knew the water was snowmelt and would be ice cold, but hey, when somebody offers you a seat on a rocket ship you don’t ask questions. You get in and blast off. And yes, it was cold.
I guess I’ll end here. I doubt anyone other than my kids are still reading at this point, and even then it will probably be 30-years from now when they’re sitting around reading the crap I left behind while talking about their long gone crazy daddy. So As always, I hope you Find Your Adventure and never forget to Live Your Life.
PS – Guess I better start working on next year’s adventure. I’ll be 53.
PPS – After 4 straight days with Ellie and Hannah my vocabulary has been enriched with phrases like “hits me in the feels” and for some reason, I too am now very upset that Selena Gomez keeps breaking the hearts of all of the guys she dates. She SO doesn’t deserve them. And of course, I need to hashtag out so #SeeYouLater
PPPS – This was my first commercial flight since starting pilot school. Zero anxiety despite heavy turbulence landing in Albuquerque. No more fear of flying. I’m actually just waiting for the flight attendant to come on the loudspeaker asking if there are any pilots on board. Put me in! All I need is my stall speed, and my flight instructor Aaron’s voice in my head saying, “More right rudder” and “Get the nose DOWN!” Cessna 172, Boeing 737. What’s the difference. I got this. We’re comin’ in hot!
Part Two
I wish my birthday story would have ended with the last story I wrote, but it didn’t.
Our flight landed in Dallas about 11:30pm. As we approached the baggage claim, a gentleman who was on our plane seemed to faint. He was in his 50’s. Airport EMT’s quickly arrived on scene. Two people, who I assume were doctors and also passengers on our plane, jumped in to help too. They took the guy’s shirt off and started working on him right there on the floor. I could tell by their actions the situation was very serious. They began performing CPR. They also used what I think is called a defibrillator multiple times. The two people who I think were doctors were getting IV drugs from the EMTs and giving them to the man through his IV. All we could do, the three of us, is stand there and watch. Although we were standing on the other side of the baggage carousel, we could still see them doing CPR. I could also hear them say “Clear” before they would use the defibrillator. In total, they worked on him for about 30 minutes. We heard this one guy who was in his 30’s say, “He was riding on the plane right next to me. We talked most of the flight and he was fine.” He was very rattled.
Finally, the rescuers decided they had done all they could. I could tell they had reached the end of the line by the expressions and gestures the two doctors were making. They put the man on a stretcher and carried him out the door. Unfortunately, he did not make it.
The three of us just stood there for a while in disbelief about what we had just witnessed.
Eventually, we collected our bags and made our way to the shuttle pickup area. We were in Love Field remote parking.
When we reached the pickup area, there was a line. We got in line and began the wait. As we stood there, I think it was Ellie who first said something about what had happened. She said, “Dad, like you always say, live every day like it’s your last.” I just smiled back at her and shook my head.
I’m a bit conflicted on whether the girls seeing this man die was bad or good, especially considering the trip we were completing. I’ve written before about how I think the Universe puts people, things, and events in our path to teach us lessons and steer us in different directions. Perhaps our witnessing this man passing was all by Universal design. Who knows. I still feel horrible for the man that lost his life. Let me say that again. Lost his life. Heck, I know people who are still officially living who have lost their life. I used to be one of them.
Although I have no idea about the man who died circumstance’s, I think I’ll choose to believe that like us, he too had just returned from an amazing trip. He had just done something he had always wanted to do. Unfortunately, it was his time to go. Because it was his time, the Universe decided that this man’s last act in the theater known as Life would be to die in a very public fashion to remind us all to never take life for granted. If that was the case, I know three people who received the message loud and clear.
Last night we didn’t get to our hotel until 1:30am and I was up at 6:30am getting ready for my FOX affiliate meeting. It’s been a long day. I think I’ll power-down now.
As always, my hope for you is that you Find Your Adventure and Live Your Life.