double-dog dare
none of us is quite sure how this actually came about.
the first thing you should know is that the big thompson river, which ran directly past our cabin, is cold. very cold. it has its origin up in the mountains and is supplied by snowmelt. did i mention how cold it is?
the second thing you should know is that estes park has an aerial tramway — one of those cable car things that sway merrily in the breeze and regularly plunges passengers to an untimely alpine death. (okay, to be fair, i'm not sure how frequently this actually happens.)
i think this is how it happened. we were talking about estes park's tramway, and mom said something like, "i'd sooner sit in the river than go up on that thing."
and then betty said something like, "oh, yeah?"
and then mom said something like, "yeah!"
and then betty said something like, "nah nah nah nah-nah."
and then suddenly mom was planning to sit in the icy river for five minutes if betty would go up in the tramway. okay, maybe i have some of the details wrong — but i assure you the conversation was no more rational than that.
the next couple of days were spent in elaborate taunting. "do you know how long five minutes actually is?" "does that cable look a little slack to you?" and my personal favorite, "ann, the cable might snap, but the river will be cold."
finally our sides hurt so much from laughing that we figured we'd better get it over with before we ruptured something. i took a picture before the event to remember mom by in case she later died of frostbite.
what, the icy-cold river's not refreshing enough for you?
mom kicks back with a good book
freezing your ass off is thirsty work
beating a hasty retreat, toes frozen but intact
then it was time for betty to ante up. that afternoon she and i mounted the tram car and kissed our lunches goodbye.
betty wishes she'd updated her will
the view was gorgeous — i'm only sorry betty missed it. she was too busy plotting an escape route, asking the tramway operator, "we wouldn't die if the car fell down now, would we?"
i am happy to report that no deaths were recorded on this day, though i did almost wet my pants from laughing.
Comments
No doubt the banter included the key phrase "I bet you 50 bucks..."
Posted by: paul^2 | September 17, 2003 12:49 PM
money wasn't in it...it was the pride thing. If either of us had chickened out, the taunting would have lasted FOREVER
Posted by: auntb | September 17, 2003 02:49 PM