I pushed my (then) husband’s ex-wife out of my kitchen. I had first politely informed her that if he and she would like to meet and discuss issues in a coffee shop somewhere that I would have no objections, but that I was through with her invading my house and screaming at him (about their kids).
I think she was so astonished that someone was not terrified by her tantrums that she was momentarily shocked into inactivity, and passively allowed me to firmly guide her out my back door. As she was leaving, she said, “Now he’ll ruin another family.” This came close to being true, but that’s another story.
(I forgot to mention, she probably outweighed me by close to a hundred pounds at that time.)
*I HAVE BEEN SMOKE-FREE FOR:
Five months, six days, 12 hours, 52 minutes and 15 seconds.
6381 cigarettes not smoked, saving $797.68.
Extra life with Drain Bead: 3 weeks, 1 day, 3 hours, 45 minutes.
*“I’m a big Genesis fan.”-David B. (Amen, brother!) **
Hey, responses! Good ones, of course. (Quite exciting for a newbie.)
I thought of another example, more along the lines of daring? or stupid? As a camp counselor, I once rowed some kids across a (small) lake as a big thunderstorm approached. Quickly. We were, in theory, headed for safety, but in retrospect, we should’ve stayed where we were when the storm came up.
Driving a 25 ton vehicle off of a 25’ cliff into a frozen river and almost drowning trying to get out. Granted it was an accident, but it was exciting none the less.
Um, well, I was waiting for the bus home one night after a bender and really had to go. So I ducked behind some fairly dark bushes a couple yards away and let it flow.
On the Pentagon.
Kept a sharp eye out for cops - fortunately they weren’t around. Walked out of the parking lot after that; wasn’t gonna hang around for anything!
Had a couple too many at the Friday night happy hour at the office, and a couple of attorneys and I went for a late-night walk around the 31st floor of the skyscraper where we worked.
Oops, make that the LEDGE outside the 31st floor of the skyscraper. Although walking around the office tipsy with a couple of drunk attorneys late at night would have been pretty daring, too.
…that I’ve done many things that others might consider “daring” :
drop out of college after 3 (successful) years and join the Marines (I went back and finished, fyi)
drive a Chevy Suburban something like 140+ mph…with 6 others in the car
propose (since been cured of that, tho’)
scuba dive past a whole shitload of baracuda…with cuts on my legs from barnicles
had sex in the back seat of moving car (a mazda, not a limo); or in a hotel room while 6 other were “sleeping;” or in the ocean 50 feet off of Cocoa Beach; or in a boiler room in a fraternity house at UofM with 4-9 people watching over the course of the hour-and-a-half; or gotten a b/j on the flight to Boot Camp while sitting in the aisle seat (the lights were down)
quit my job with a successful company, doing good things, making good money, just because I hate where I live
See, I don’t think it’s too extraordinary, it’s just life.
Finally, one night, when my dad was screaming at me, I screamed back. It worked.
Moved out of my parents’ house with a shaky income. Decided I wouldn’t ask them for money. Decided to become an adult. It was time.
Walked up on the mountain late one night. It wasn’t really dangerous, I guess, but it scared the living shit out of me at the time (I was about 16.)
Came out.
Stopped being a Christian.
Got chased down Ste Catherine St. by baton-wielding police officers during an anti-police-brutality protest. They tried to hem us in. I was sure I was going to get my head beat in. (I didn’t.)
Oh, yeah. I don’t know if these count as “daring” or not, but…
One time I went to this really cute guy’s place. We went to bed together; it was cozy and romantic, and by and by he told me he wanted me to fuck him. I said fine, where are your condoms? He looked all disappointed and told me he thought I had agreed to do it bareback. I walked out on him. As I was walking home, I got so proud of myself that I had to call Kids Help Phone and tell them what I’d done, just to share it with someone.
Not daring, just smart. But I was really proud.
One night I was going to meet a casual acquaintance. I mistook someone else for him, and this person took advantage of my confusion to lead me into a dangerous situation. My spider sense went off and I ran away like a bat out of hell. I was sure that if I had stayed, I would have gotten gaybashed. Brrrrr.
I once crossed the border from Austria into Czechoslovakia, during the Cold War.
They made you park on one end of the bridge and walk over into a line of tanks, looking right down the barrels.
A week earlier I had gone into Communist Hungary and been held hostage at the border for 6 hours while they investigated my passport. They kept comparing me to a book of pictures on the desktop. I had no idea why, and was unable to eat, sleep or leave until they handed the passport back.
So with the Czechs I knew I might be in some sort of trouble. Fortunately they simply turned me away after an hour. Said my 2-day visa was “not convincing”.
When I crossed back I couldn’t believe the chance I’d taken.
What if I looked like a spy? How could you know in advance?
And here I was trying a second crossing in one week.
Rode 20+ wave at Sunset (actually about 6 of them). Balls out hairy since it was my first BIG waves. The drop alone gave me a heart attack and nothing has matched having that blue lip curl over and put me in that green room. Pure heaven (I made it too)
And driving from LA to Vegas in 2 hours in a Pantera and my friends in a Porsche (avg speed 130). Never pulled over and I consider us extremely lucky to have gotten away with it.