I should begin by stating that spiders and heights, in that order, are among my only fears. So I’m vaguely uncomfortable with my current predicament, 250 feet up in the air hugging the trunk of some variety of branchless tree with rough bark that would seem to be specially adapted to be uncomfortable for hugging. There is a powerful wind on my back. I can’t put my finger on it but for some reason i’m also a great deal embarassed about hanging out here. I manage to bring my eyes from the distant ground long enough to assess what has happened and what needs to happen in order to get down from here.

I shoot a quick glance backward to see where I came from. About fifty feet directly behind me is a single platform, just as high in the air as my dear tree and I, supported by a lone pole around which is wrapped a spiral staircase. The platform is part of a long row of identical platforms all of which are large enough to allow several people adequate standing room. A queue of people stretching to the ground wait for their turn to get onto one of the many platforms. Their turn at what? I crane my neck around the side of the trunk of my tree, careful not to shift my weight, to catch a glimpse of the what lies ahead. About fifty feet in front, at the same altitude as myself, is a long row of platforms identical to those that I had apparently come from. It seems that the roughly one hundred foot gap between the two rows of platforms, a deadly 250 feet above the ground, has to be crossed. Why? Rite of passage? Not sure yet and, to be honest, not terribly interested right now with this craggy treebark digging into my thighs. And just how the hell did I get here? I looked to my left and right to see how other people are crossing this seemingly impossible chasm. But no one is moving. They are all watching me from the platforms and stairs. Hundreds of them. Offering no physical or verbal assistance. Nothing. Not even a “you can do it”.

    “NOW WHAT!?” I bellow at them.

    Silence…
  
    I am on my own here. Here, halfway to my destination, with all of my limbs gripping the only tree anywhere to be seen. How I made it this far I truly can’t recall.