No problem .. too easy, boots stick to this stuff .. can wander upright around on it, no problem. Went for quote to clean the gutters. The back of the house is too easy, slope such that can stand on a rock in the back garden, step onto the horizontal roof of the patio, wander up to the ridge. Casually stand there, peer over, and make a quote.
Somewhere, somehow, fear crept in.
Am not silly. Have travelled an 8 tonne, 32' ketch single-handed around some local oceans .. but this one made me think.
Fear is often a strange emotion. If, for example, a rigid plank 12 inches wide and 30 feet long was placed on the ground, most people could walk back and forth along it without problem. Raise the same plank 40 feet above the ground, and the mind begins to play tricks. Imagination and the 'possibility' of falling off kicks in, and 'fear' begins.. But it is the same plank.
I "knew" that I had the same, very low to nil, probability of falling off the front part as I did the back and yet .. and yet .. went out and bought one of those belt harnesses that rock climbers and abseilers use, and dug a very long 20mm plaited anchor rope out of the cupboard.
Had no problems on the back, sat perched with feet in the gutters, the drop was about two feet to the flat roof of the patio, was able to stand up and cart heavy bags of wet leaves back and forth .. but when it came time to go "over the ridge", quailed. Even with harness and rope could only slide slowly down to the edge on my bum.
When the bag was full, crawled carefully back up to the ridge, and then stand up, unclip the rope, sling the bag over my shoulder and walk down the slope. Why was I not able to do that on both sides of the ridge?
Strangely enough, having to cope with loose bits of rope made the situation more difficult, as I then became afraid of tripping over it. What would have happened if I did go over? Dunno. Dangle there until somebody came along to get me down, I guess.
I must be crazy .. the harness cost more than was paid for the job. Interesting experience though.
5 comments:
If you fell off the ketch, you'd get wet. If you slippe on a few leaves near the eaves n went down, uh, the pavement would get wet.
Heights make sweat break out on my palms just thinking about them
You're fighting 6 million years of evolution here, darlin'. Unless you think some Intelligent Designer made this whole shebang in six days, you might agree that we descend from creatures that lived in trees. And guess what? These creatures were afraid of falling! It isn't the heights so much as the SPLAT at the bottom of the fall.
To whit: Would you have trouble standing on the edge of a cliff that falls sheer 1000 feet, if behind you is nice flat rock? Naah. You'd enjoy the view. But put a slant to that rock, and the panic level goes way up.
It's primate breeding.
Thanks for the plug. I'm honored. I'll try to reciprocate if I can figure out how to use a computer.
Yes indeed!This was an interesting experiences. Caves and heights ... huh .. maybe I haven't kicked all my fears.
Hi Davo, I think your last sentence is the pertinent one, DIY can be a disaster if let run riot, there are people, (fools) who make their living doing dangerous stuff, don't deprive them!!!
Peter, have been trying to think of some sort of intelligent, wise and witty answer to Anne J .. but failed.
As a 'civilised' community we are programmed. (to achieve, to fail.. just pay the taxes.)
Having achieved it without falling off, might try walking on roofs like that without restraint, next time.
Post a Comment