When I’m walking to work over the Wabasha Street Bridge sometimes a thought flickers through my mind, just at the edge of consciousness…of jumping over the rail and into the Mississippi River. My alter ego, Captain Safety, would ever allow this course of action. But I think there’s something about the idea that’s hardwired into humanity…it’s the same impulse that leads people to activities like skydiving, bungee jumping, rollercoaster riding or even just jumping on a big ole trampoline. It’s the desire for freefall…and the urge to toy with mortality, albeit with safety nets. It makes me wonder what earlier generations of daredevils did for kicks (wrassle a bear? dive off a cliff?) and how many of those thrillseekers survived their solutions.
