Cover photo courtesy of athensmessenger.com.
March 25th, 2017. High Fest in Athens, Ohio…what a day! Music started almost as soon as the sun rose and beers cracked open with a fizz to commence the partying. Horse cops were on patrol and DJs spun their best mixes to crowds of all ages (I spotted a few dads reliving their younger years). The warm air brought out jerseys, jorts, and apparently a few daredevils. One specifically was seen climbing a tree at (what he thinks was approximately) 7:30PM.
Video courtesy of Youtube user thisisahughes.
After seeing this video come across my timelines dozens of times, I realized that I knew this particular daredevil and immediately texted him for a quick Q&A about the fall. Here’s what he had to say.
Brooklynn K. (BK): What made you want to climb the tree?
Guy Who Fell from Tree (GWFFT): “I was trying to retrieve a football that I wanted down when nothing could get it.”
BK: What were people’s initial reactions?
GWFFT: “At first, mostly everyone said not the climb the tree. Shortly after, most kept egging me on to continue (a few said to stop).”
BK: What went through your head on the way down and immediately after?
GWFFT: “As I was falling, I thought I was going to die. It was over but worth it, I tried my best but failed…the video was 10 seconds but the fall to me felt like 10 minutes…when I landed all I was was something I could appreciate.”
BK: Has your family seen it? If so, what’re their reactions?
GWFFT: “I don’t know if they have seen it or not, I didn’t share it with them or hear anything from them. The reaction I expect is, ‘OMG we love you but why would you climb the tree in the first place?’ I don’t want my parents to worry about me.”
BK: I’m sure it would be a few more words than that. What did you do after the fall? How’d you spend the rest of the day?
GWWFT: “Oh it would be a lot more words than that but that would be the gist of it. After the fall people kept giving me beer because I ‘deserved it’ which was nice of them but I’m sure they did it because I probably should have died…The rest of the day I just tried to find a few of my friends to see what they were up to and hang out which included me going to the bars eventually.”
BK: Do you have any injuries from the fall?
GWFFT: “My injuries are really just poison ivy rashes. I hurt my ankle when the branch first broke and my wrists really hurt from stopping my fall but those healed quickly and don’t bother me at all anymore.”
Thankfully, GWFFT didn’t sustain any terrible injuries, and as his friend, I am happy to see he is alright.
Be safe and don’t climbing, Bobcats!