I have done more dangerous things, but not recently. I snowboarded behind my cousin's Jeep down a sidestreet one New year's eve. I managed to hit a snowdrift rather than the electrical pole two feet away. I once jumped out a second story window into a dumpster because a)I was drunk and b) we had seen it in a movie and it looked cool. Don't believe me? I can show you the mark that the five stitches left in my leg.

Still, flying a kite in an electrical storm might just might take the cake. Laurie had bought the kite for her neice, who couldn't go to the park with us because of a nasty incident involving her little brother and some SuperGlue. So it was just she and I and a line of dark clouds that had lightning and hail written all over them. As the wind picked up the kite went farther into the sky and it took both of my hands to keep it from taking flight forever. When the rain began Laurie started jumping up and down. She was screaming above the gale:

Hold it!! Hold it! Bring it in!

As if I had any control over its path at that point. She put her arms around my waist and pulled me as I pulled on the line. About halfway to earth Mother Nature lost her patience with us and snapped the string. Our suicidal kite headed east toward the horizon. She pushed her face against my now soaked back and yelled in feigned agony.

It's gone, oooh it's gone!

Twenty minutes later, trying to dry out in her car, she asked me if I was scared. I paused long enough so that she stopped squeezing out her socks and was looking me squarely in the eyes.

"Yeah, yeah I was scared. But I didn't want to let you down. That's the truth."

Well, this is the truth, she said, wet bangs hanging in front of now downcast eyes. I wanted to see how crazy you would be for me.

Rain slammed against the sides of the car as we listened to the wind and breathed in the clean honesty of those words. I pulled her close and my mouth took a long salty taste of this risk taker. I loved this girl/woman and bodily harm didn't seem any hurdle to this or any other adventure.

Inside her head at that moment there were probably thousands of plans for more daredevil stunts. Outside the car all you could see was fogged up windows.

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