Fear Itself: Airplanes, Motorcycles, & Aikido

Jude Hayes is way braver than her humble writer. Or, at the very least, she takes a more relaxed approach to life. Both of us were corporate pilots for quite a few years, and flying is definitely one of those pursuits that many people file in the daredevil category. Well, Jude would say to that, "Not hardly."

Not corporate flying, anyway. Boards of directors of large corporations and the safety guardian Federal Aviation Administration really prefer not to allow reckless cowboy types to cart highly placed executives around the big sky. It's bad for the stock market and such. They prefer the safe and boring type of pilot. We can't all be Sam Shepard playing Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff.

Flying does have a bit more risk than some things, like playing the piano, for example, because it features a few challenges like getting up close and personal with weather and kiting around in the atmosphere where most land mammals really aren't supposed to be. Statistically, it carries far less risk than say, riding motorcycles, or practicing a martial art like Aikido, two more things Jude Hayes and I have in common. But the flight environment is one always to be respected, no exceptions.

All these vocations/avocations are big fun, but sometimes they're pretty intimidating --not to use that sissy word "scary." Generally, the fun trumps the fear, or the challenge trumps the fear, or the sense of accomplishment or some other intrinsic reward outweighs the fear, and we fly, or we ride, or we redirect our partner's attack in the dojo.

My husband claims I'm irresistibly drawn to hobbies that generate fear in me. I don't think he means I'm an adrenaline junkie. I'm nobody's idea of a thrill seeker. I just like the fun, active stuff. And I do like a moderate level of challenge. There's something to be said for feeling really grand after you surmount an obstacle. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." And, as her husband said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Back in Jude's parallel universe version of Grand Junction, Colorado, we hear Clicker say, "Dudette, that's like . . .  way too heavily philosophical for a mystery blog!" Fer sure, Clicker. But, I have a couple of questions. I'm wondering, what hobbies or interests or passions--that's the operative word--do you have that scare you a little bit, but you "feel the fear and do (them) anyway?" The fun, the passion fuels the doing, but what part does the fear play for you?

My long-time mentor Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and my all-time favorite flying books, wrote a short story titled Loops, Voices, and the Fear of Death where he discusses this point most eloquently. He's initially very apprehensive about taking spin training in a light airplane. When he masters spins--and spin recoveries, of course--he's elated that he's wrestled that fear to the ground and he practices more spins "just for fun." So what's your passion-laced-with-fear? Is it singing for an audience? Catching a pass and running for long yardage? Having your first baby? The first day of class at that college you dared not hope you'd get into?