extreme airborne sports
You know how sometimes you can be put on the spot to 'tell a story'. Well, my fall-back story is one my sister told me, that was related to her by a paraglider. He told her about this one time when he was out paragliding with a buddy when they got caught in a thunderstorm. He started getting sucked up and up into the storm, and was getting bashed around by hailballs the size of grapefuit. He knew it would be almost certain death to keep being pulled up to higher altitudes and colder, thinner air, so he pulled out a knife from his boot and cut his 'chute free, knowing that would let him drop out of the storm. Once he was under it and clear, he pulled his back-up parachute and safely landed miles and miles from where he had started. The last bit of the story is the best, as I make a solemn face and say "And his friend floated out of the sky the next day, 100 miles away... frozen to death!!!"
I've always been kind of sceptical of this story, with it being second hand (or third-hand in my re-telling of it). Sceptical that was, until I read this news item. Amazing!
I've always been kind of sceptical of this story, with it being second hand (or third-hand in my re-telling of it). Sceptical that was, until I read this news item. Amazing!