Friday, October 12, 2012

Walk on the Wild Side

Photo Credit:  Stephanie Karfelt

Standing outside a Walmart in Roswell, New Mexico, I snapped pictures of the front of the building. With little more than an eye-roll, I’d driven past the touristy UFO museums and streetlights shaped like alien heads. This was too sweet to pass up. A big beefy biker dude watched me. I battled the blinding desert sun, hoping to get a decent picture of the storefront mural. The biker got off his bike and made his way over to me. Somehow he managed to wear head to toe leather despite the heat. Skin not encased in leather was covered in tattoos. “Come ‘ere,” he said, “Wanna show ya somethin’.”  Broad daylight, Walmart parking lot, big freaky biker guy, I’m game, so I followed him back to the bike. “Lookit tha’” he motioned with his head to his bike. I know as much about motorcycles as I do cars. They consist of metal and rubber. He proudly pointed out the kickstand. It looked like the alien in the Sigourney Weaver movies, only in chrome. Sweet.
Sometimes I put it on my mental to-do list. ‘Today I will do something that scares me.’  The purpose of the mandate is writing fodder. That road trip through New Mexico provided plenty of opportunity for scares and fodder. My favorite creep-out being the “CAUTION RATTLESNAKES!” signs at the rest areas. The scariest being bedbugs in a rather nice hotel, I could have lived without that. It has plagued me at every hotel I’ve stayed at since.
Photo Credit:  Stephanie Karfelt

Flying doesn’t bother me, but my favorite part of flying in an open cockpit airplane was definitely the landing. Sticking your head out of a moving aircraft isn’t nearly as much fun as it sounds. Even though flying over my own house was kind of cool. It made me realize that we don’t weed-whack nearly enough. Someone should get on that.
The National Whitewater Center has a really fun ropes course and whitewater rafting opportunities. I hit the water one chilly autumn day and enjoyed every shivering minute of it. The part that scared me ended up not being my time in the water. Continuing a lifelong tradition of refusing to climb into a rental wetsuit sans underclothes, I was then faced with the reality of soaking wet and icy cold under things for my long drive home. A half hour later I sat at Sonic with a Cherry-Coke slush, commando. My rafting buddy, Angel, and I decided it was rather liberating. Talk about taking a walk on the wild side.
Photo Credit:  Stephanie Karfelt

Still handing out boxes of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans here at The Glitter Globe. Are you up for trying something that scares you?  Tell me about your walk on the wild side. What have you done lately that scares you?  Was it as bad as you thought it would be?  I’d really like to know your favorite creep-out. 
Photo Credit:  Stephanie Karfelt
***
The Epic Slinky Dog Giveaway continues here at The Glitter Globe also!  Dual giveaways!  Follow my blog, to be eligible, and leave a comment. I’ll pick five comments for a box of Every Flavour Beans. And for every five new followers I get, I randomly pick someone from the comment section for a Slinky Dog!   
Photo Credit: Zachary M.
Now that just scares me



15 comments:

  1. Slinky dog, so cool
    Moves like metal rolled around
    Springs instead of barks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Epic Slinky Dog
    Slinking away, never stay put
    Springboard to new life

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hail Canus Slinkus,
    Lazy eyes, colored round guts.
    Ride on, Slink, ride on.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ya know, I haven't done anything that scared me or gave me a thrill lately. I mean, in the adrenaline-pumping-hopefully-it's-loud-enough-so-no-one-hears-me-cursing kind of way. Hmmm... gonna have to figure that out and go do it. Done a bunch of stuff prior, but it's been awhile since a unique experience like that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I lived in Roswell, NM for 15 years...before the UFO festivals but I do admit that I visited the UFO museums during lunch one day.Does that count as walking on the wild side?

    I dreamed of Slinky Dog
    Coily, coyly, smiling muse.
    Oops, haiku too late.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hmmm... the scariest thing I've done (in my adult life at least) was joining Roller Derby. See, I'm that girl that used to lie to get out of P.E. I was sick every day of softball season. When it was time to run track, I had an "accident" that kept me from being able to break a sweat. There I was, on skates for the first time in over a decade, about to hit the rink, with the only purpose being SURVIVAL. I took off in a blur, skating faster than the wind. Some thought I was vying for a position as jammer. Little did they know my break-neck speed was just to avoid being hit by girls with names like "Hard Hitting Harley" and "Sorella Demise". I found out two things during my months as Lady Literati Thunder:
    1. I am MUCH tougher than I thought.
    2. Broken bones take MUCH longer to heal.

    It was a scary, wild ride, but I learned to take a hit, and to stand up for myself like never before. Scary, certainly. Worth it? Oh yes. I recommend everyone try it... just once. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Scary things...scary things.

    One of the most thrilling things I did (or the two) was doing the Sling Shot and the Speed at our state fair this year. Each hits a few Gs as it throws you into the air, though in different ways. I preferred Speed to Sling Shot. Lasted longer.

    Things that scare me. Hmm. When have I walked on the wild side? Maybe when I was in Oregon alone (first time traveling alone) and walked to and from the mall a few times along a narrow barely-there sidewalk while cars flew past. You'd have to get me and my insecurities to know why that was a big deal.

    Man I'm boring. I do stage stuff, that's always thrilling, but not scary or wild. Hmm...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Veritas Vale - First! Private message me an address for Slinky Dog!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fidzo20 - Feel it is necessary to let this one slide, since the secret directions weren't as clear as they could have been. Though you do need to follow the blog and send me an address. Provided you do that, Slinky will springboard to a new life at your house.

    ReplyDelete
  10. rhollidaywrites - Can I just say that I have to give you snaps for this one? I could just hear the smokey room echoing, "Ride on, Slink, ride on." *snap* *snap* *snap*
    Oh you already have a pile of Slinkys anyway, now you'll have a pile of Every Flavour Beans too.

    PS - I think I may have sat behind you on a roller coaster once. I could hear btw.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lynnell - Fifteen years in Roswell? ((hugs)) - No just playing - fun place. I like a town with a sense of humor. Visiting the UFO museum is a walk on the wild side if it is a stretch for you. We all have our parameters, right? I'd really like to see you blog about it.
    Beans to the chick from Roswell.
    (Coily, coyly, fab btw.) Send me an address, can hardly wait to see where you live now.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lady Literati Thunder. Wow. Roller Derby. Wow. Definitely counts. Talk about finding your inner athlete. Everyone needs to try it? Hmmm. Thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Kelsey - Stage stuff? Hardly boring. That takes guts. And everyone has their own limits. I think my motto is just to push my own, because it is excellent story fodder - plus - now that you've thrown a few G's, I notice that you wanted it to last longer. Would you have wanted that before you'd tried it?
    I'm going to send you some BBEFB so you can keep pushing the limits. Looks like everyone wins again! Good thing I don't get fifty responses! Remember to send me your addresses!

    ReplyDelete
  14. LOL Steph, yeah, it did have a bit of a hipster feel. I couldn't quite figure out how to insert the bongo slap in there. In the spirit of it all, I have my goatee theoretically dyed black...

    I'm good with my Slinks, now, just to surprise the kids with the Every Flavour Beans...this could be fun... LOL

    ReplyDelete
  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete