Tenting in AfricaIn 1998 I went to East Africa with my friend Mandy for a camping safari. Mandy was a 3-hour-a-day commuter, understandably seeping with zero tolerance for sitting in anything mobile. Not a good time to be flying 21 hours to spend many more being driven through Tanzania and Kenya. Even though I don’t speak Swahili, I’m fluent in sarcasm, so I wrote our itinerary to prepare Mandy for what was coming. Here it is, in part… Continue reading
I wouldn’t say I’m an adrenaline junkie but I’m game for almost anything involving adventure. “No” simply isn’t in my vocabulary when something exhilarating is in the offing. This tendency for thrills sometimes causes me to make stupid decisions. It’s then that I wonder, often too late, what I was thinking. Take our white water rafting trip…
Previously, I’d only experienced rafting on the gentle Truckee River. That’s like wading in the kiddy pool. Now don’t get me wrong; the Truckee offers an enjoyable float down a calm, scenic river, but nothing that makes you nearly pee your pants from excitement. And that, my friends, is what I’m seeking. Continue reading
This column was written a few years back.
While my three friends and I huddled on the cold steel floor of the single engine Cessna, I struggled to remember what possessed me to want to hurl myself from an airborne metal tube. 
Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not crazy. At least I think I’m not. But still, I seriously questioned my sanity while checking my parachute pack for the tenth time. My curiosity was not based on its technical construction but simply to confirm that it was still on my back. Continue reading
Now Don't Get Me Wrong 