There were far better things to do that morning last September en route to Oregon from work in New Mexico, than to climb over the railing of the O’Callaghan-Tillman Bridge, far, far – nearly 900 spectacular feet – above the Colorado River. I generally get woozy when I’ve ascended beyond the 6th rung of a ladder. As a matter of fact, Shara, or one of my phobia-free friends, usually get tapped into action when Christmas rolls around and lights need to be strung on our second story eaves. Embarrassingly, I have on occasion required ‘talking down’ from a point mid-ladder where, entangled in a cat’s-cradle of lighting, I had frozen in a spasm of vertigo.

Truly I, of all people, had better, wiser things to do that day. I could have – should have – been pulling into a casino in Boulder City for a cup of so-so coffee and a couple of passes through the breakfast buffet. But no, I chose to watch the sunrise from the apex of that marvelous, terrifying concrete arch. Nothing explains the lapse of reason that prompted this short-lived foolishness, except the seductive lure in bagging a video trophy, an enticement made all too accessible by the damned user-friendly video cameras built into our smart-phones. Anything for the Blog…for the Tube…for the 15 minutes.

I shiver when I look at this clip…then I get the urge for a short stack.