HEAVEN ON EARTH
In some ways, it was really just dirt and rocks next to water, but in other ways it seemed like heaven on earth. The frigid waters start their journey toward the devil’s bedroom up in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. We didn’t give two thoughts about where the rushing waters were running from, not really about the rugged beauty either. The rushing river looked more like the perfect double dog dare.The current of the Colorado River was life threatening all by itself. What made it even more menacing was the height of the dirt, rock, and loose sand towering far above the green river that had chosen the path of least resistance beside the rocks thousands of years before.
We weren’t looking for a history lesson, we were looking for a thrill. Some kids were participants and some were spectators. Looking back now, it’s apparent that all of us had different motivations for jumping off the cliffs from dizzying heights.
Some of my big brother’s friends nicknamed me “Fearless Floyd”, but I wasn’t fearless, I just learned how to act like I was.
There was a kid, I believe whose name was Jim, if my memory isn’t stumbling, who was a few years older than me. Jim had shoulder length hair, singed blonde on the edges by the searing Arizona sun like most of us. He was stocky, well built naturally.
What stood out the most about Jim was his absolute absence of common sense and fear. Most of us would stalk the edge of the sixty to eighty-foot cliffs like we were sneaking up on the rapid river below, but not Jim.
Jim would shed his t-shirt and meager affects twenty or thirty feet back from the edge upon his arrival. Then he’d turn and sprint like a madman possessed toward the edge of the cliffs and let out a “WOOOOO-HOOOOO!!!” as he launched himself into the arms of gravity.
Jim didn’t give a second thought to any boats that he wouldn’t be able to see until he was airborne. He knew the odds were in his favor… not to mention the additional juice he got out of rolling the dice with his young life.
I’m one of those firm believers that actions do the talking for us in this life and you can tell a lot about kids by watching them closely. Some of the other kids wouldn’t jump off the cliff that was known to everyone in town as “Suicide”.
They’d crawl like scared billy goats across the heaven on earth to conquer the smaller jumps into the heart-shocking drink. Others of us searched deep into our soul and guts to find just enough courage to face the mountain, gravity, and the Colorado River.
It’s peculiar how we’re all wired by God differently. I’m also fascinated with how often the actions taken in childhood depict the life and actions that lie ahead of a person.
Which cliff a person chooses, regardless of the reason, says everything about the life they’ll live… and where they’ll land.
It starts with perspective… then the approach.
Hazel Moon
Sunday, August 30, 2015 @ 5:22 pm
I was one of those scared persons, even at the swim pool. Not even a diving boards for me. With God there are times we must take the “risk,” even when He says to walk on the water. I am glad He never told me jump off a cliff.
Starting up your own business is scary too, but often worth the risk of jumping in. Loved this post!
Nannette and the Sweetheart
Sunday, August 30, 2015 @ 6:20 pm
i was a chicken Floyd! Still am in many ways. God has helped me overcome many phobias but some I am keeping, lol. Great post as always. Love your words!
Betty Draper
Sunday, August 30, 2015 @ 7:42 pm
I was more of a dare devil when very young but I try to believe good common sense and wisdom took some of that out of me. Yet…there are some things worth risking all for, I hope the ones I took in my older years tell more about my life then the ones I took when I was young. We learns to pick different cliffs as we gain insight and wisdom. Great post.
Cheryl Smith
Sunday, August 30, 2015 @ 10:19 pm
This post brought back a lot of my own memories of youth. My, it seems like so long ago! We used to go inter-tubing down the Miami River in OH. I was scared, but I would get in there with the toughest of them…panicking inside and not wanting to show it. One time, Dad and I got caught in some rapids, and it is the sheer mercies of the dear Lord that we didn’t drown that day. Thanks to God and my courageous brother-in-law, Richie (God rest his soul), we were spared an awful death…this happened on Father’s Day, to top it all. I remember many adventures on that river, and as I look back now, I marvel at God’s amazing grace and protection over us foolish ones. Now, I am the farthest thing from a risk-taker, and it has come to mean less and less whether or not anyone thinks I’m a wimp. Now, I just want to live as long as possible. It’s amazing how we come to embrace the fact of our own mortality, the older we get, isn’t it? It’s a wonder any of us survived!! LOL! Thank you for sharing your heart here, brother….you always make me think and recollect and feel so very blessed by the time I leave here. π God bless you abundantly.
Lisa notes
Monday, August 31, 2015 @ 6:03 am
I don’t know…you seem like Fearless Floyd to me! π I wish I had a little more of that in me…
Bill (cycleguy)
Monday, August 31, 2015 @ 1:36 pm
I’m a cross between jim and a scaredy cat. i think with age has come “smarts” which hold in check the reckless abandon I dream of having. π Like riding a Harley. I say, “Yes.” Jo says, “No.” Smarts say, “Don’t.” Jo and smarts wins every time.
Lynn D. Morrissey
Monday, August 31, 2015 @ 6:05 pm
Love this, Floyd, as I do everything you write. I have never known anyone who could spin such a great yard and who keeps spooling out those stories, and making applications with them. You led an exciting childhood for sure. I can’t remember much of mine. But I know I would not have been a cliff jumper. I’m more of a cave dweller, and probably always will be . . . unless it’s God who does the pushing. I’m not particularly excited about jumping and don’t until He absolutely makes it clear that I’m to do it (and gives me that spiritual nudge). Honestly, the only reason I can obey, is that I know that “underneath are the everlasting arms). I know He’ll carry me.
Love
Lynn
Jason Stasyszen
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 @ 8:34 am
It’s sorta funny, but I feel like I tried some things as a kid trying to look fearless. Now, I’m more toward really being fearless (and I never really thought I’d say that). Not so much about jumping off cliffs (although I’ve done that in the past couple years), but my approach to life. Thought-provoking, my friend! Thanks. π
Sharon
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 @ 1:28 pm
I’ve done some traveling in those states, and the scenery can be breathtaking. But also, a bit treacherous. The boldest thing I’ve done is hike The Narrows in Zion National Park (from top to bottom, the whole length) – a two-day adventure that I’ve lived to tell the tale about!! Not dangerous, but an ordeal I’m proud to have accomplished.
However, truth be told, I’ve been a scaredy-cat all my life. I suppose at this point, though I don’t want to be fearless (as in careless or rash), I do want to be fear-less. I’m tired of fear controlling so much of what I think and do (or don’t do). I’m asking God to give me the courage to live life the way He wants me to, even if it means venturing out of my comfort zone.
WOOO-HOOO!!
GOD BLESS!
Jennifer Dougan
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 @ 6:42 pm
It sounds beautiful and scary.
Crazy-loud lightning strikes are hitting here right now, and my husband and daughter and I are laughing, squealing, and cringing, counting the seconds in between the flash and the crack.
Jennifer Dougan
http://www.jenniferdougan.com
Joanne Norton
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 @ 7:47 pm
As usual, you shared wonderfully! It was worth a lot of attention and focusing on the consequences. Thank you so much, Brother. Bless you. π
Dolly@Soulstops
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 @ 11:10 am
Floyd,
It always amazes me how God wired each of us so differently…Fearless Floyd sounds like a great nickname…like how you tucked in perspective and approach at the end…I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have jumped a cliff that high π There are external cliffs and internal cliffs to jump….
saleslady371
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 @ 2:35 pm
Hi, Floyd:
You deserve a ribbon of excellence for this beautifully written message. I like the heart of it too. Personal to me would be observing the motivations of my little granddaughters and how I try to guess their future work by the drive and personality I see in them. And I can’t help but wonder about Jim’s mom–She must have been as tough as nails herself, huh? To sustain a kid like that.
I’ve witnessed many a group of hooligans during our boat trips when we lived near the Colorado River diving off the cliffs (some show offs without their trunks trying to get noticed.) That wasn’t your group, was it?
This piece should be submitted…somewhere…
Big blessings,
Mary
Hazel Moon
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 @ 6:14 pm
Thank you Floyd, for sharing your awesome post with us here at βTell Me a Story.”
Ed
Monday, September 21, 2015 @ 2:09 am
I remember those cliffs on the Lake Mead, Nevada side. I witnessed some brave, but stupid souls jumping off them to the waters down below. Thankfully none of them that I witnessed got hurt, but there were those who did…some seriously. Unfortunately today jumping off those same cliffs would mean your head will make contact with the rough terrain below, as the water level has dropped.
But of course, being young often means not having limits witin ourselves. How I wish I were young again. π