Since last weekend...most everyone I have come across in conversation has been talking about Nik Wallenda and his successful cable walk across the Little Colorado River Gorge...on the Navajo Nation Reservation...near the Grand Canyon...in northeastern Arizona...and the unsuccessful wing
walker... Jane Wicker... who, along with her
How does one get the nerve to walk a tightrope...or more specifically...a cable...more than one-quarter of a mile...wearing no harness...with no safety net...and with the possible drop to his death...of about 15-hundred feet? I was a tad nervous just watching Nik Wallenda, as he battled strong winds while balancing himself. The 34-year old Wallenda is a 7th generation high-wire artist, who is a part of the famous "Flying Wallendas" circus family. His great-grandfather...Karl Wallenda...tumbled to his death in 1978 during a
tightrope performance in Puerto Rico at the age of 73. Several other relatives - including an uncle and a cousin - have also been killed while exhibiting similar wire-walking stunts. But on Sunday, June 23rd, 2013...it took Nik Wallenda 22 minutes and 54 seconds...including praying - or perhaps begging to God - to slow down the wind and calm the cable...in order for Wallenda to achieve...what before...seemed impossible to even imagine. His Grand Canyon event was broadcast live on the Discovery Channel...but with a 10-second delay...and we all know why. Just in case.
Wallenda's walk was truly breathtaking...as it scared to death many of the 13-million viewers, who were glued to their television sets. Gladly, it didn't take his breath away or frighten him to actual death.
But death did come to another daredevil the day before. On Saturday, June 22nd, 2013...the life of 44-year old Jane Wicker ended when she walked on the wing of an airplane. It was a spectacular exposition until something went terribly wrong. The plane lost control and the single engine aircraft suddenly crashed...slamming into the ground...and exploding on impact. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident.
Prior to the wing-walking stunt that killed her...Wicker told reporters, "The common reaction is...you're crazy. Why would you step out of a perfectly good airplane?" But Wicker went on to say, "It's just me. It's the airplane. It's the sky. There's nothing more exhilarating than wing-walking."
The deaths of Jane Wicker and her pilot, Charlie Schwenker, were tragic. My sympathies go out to their families. But the loss of these two lives are pointless, senseless and were completely avoidable. As a mother of teenage children, Wicker should have known better than to walk on the wing of an airplane. As for Nik Wallenda...thankfully, he accomplished - with grand style - his walk across the gorge near the Grand Canyon...as he lives to talk about it. But what if he hadn't? Wallenda too has children - not to mention his wife and the rest of his loved ones. I am truly sorry and I genuinely feel bad for the deaths of Wicker and Schwenker...and, although a nailbiter for the audience...I have to applaud Wallenda for his skillfully prepared and entertaining event. But when you have children...and a spouse...you need to have some common sense - something I don't think any of these risktakers have. Let's face it...in addition to whatever spirit of adventure...people such as these have...I'll agree with Jane Wicker's evaluation. You've got to be a little bit nuts.
What gives these two daring individuals - and others like them - not only the courage, but the crazy craving of risking their lives...merely to be titillated? After all...these are dangerous stunts. So do they have the right to do them? Yeah...I suppose they do. We cannot ban everything in life that is dangerous. We can only hope that the people who perform in airshows, skywalking or any other chancy and hazardous activity...will use the proper precautions...and are not risking the lives of innocent people who may be on the sidelines watching.
Nik Wallenda now wants to walk 9 blocks...on a sky-high cable... stretched from the Empire State Building to the Chrysler Building in Manhattan. But New York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly says no way. "I think it's too dangerous. There are thousands of New Yorkers who certainly could be put at risk. So I don't think it would be wise in this city."
Should people be forbidden to risk their lives - just for the fun of doing something dangerous and exciting...for the adrenaline rush? Are they doing it also...for the money?
Nik Wallenda has broken all sorts of records. He's listed 8 times in the book of Guiness World Records. On June 15th, 2012...Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls. And this past Sunday...another of his dreams came true with his Grand Canyon stunt. Perhaps Nik Wallenda should remember...that sometimes it's better...to quit...while you're ahead.
As for Jane Wicker...her kids no longer have a mother. She knew the risks...but loved the thrill. "I'm alive up there," Wicker once said. Well now...she's dead. Was it worth it?
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
"We'll talk again."
The Controversy will make an effort to publish a new commentary every Sunday and Wednesday. Unscheduled essays may appear, from time to time, on other days as well.
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