Are You an Adrenalin Junky?

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I used to be. It all started when I was 10 or so; like a lot of kids we set up ramps on the sidewalk to jump with out stingray (and later BMX) bikes. Sting ray bikes seemed built for jumping. The banana seats and handlebars made it easy to set the rear tire down after catching awesome air. Later, in high school drama class when I learned that falling properly didn't hurt... even though it looks really painful. I came up with a way to fall from standing upright to flat on my back without feeling any pain at all. That led to coming up with ways to incorporate stunts into the onstage assignments. The more painful I could make it look, the more fun it was. The teacher used to have us go up to the stage, then she'd say one or two words that we had to come up with a way to act out. One time she said "drum stick". So I set up some boxes as kind of a drum kit, then I started beating my head on them like, well... a drum stick. But no great drum solo is complete if sticks don't get thrown out to the audience, so after a minute or two of head banging, I dove over the boxes, landing head first in the aisle between desks. ;~D Another one was a "suicide right on the stage" as part of acting out a song (which song I don't remember anymore). There was a 7 foot set of stairs backstage, they were part of the set of some play that was done a few year before. I set a butcher knife on the top of the stairs for the grand finale of my act. At the appropriate time for the song, I crawled up the stairs in what was sure to have been a very melodramatic way. I kneeled at the top of the stairs and held the knife above my head, then I plunged it to my gut. My white T-shirt turned red as I dropped the knife to the side and tumbled to the hardwood stage with a really cool thud. Of course, the red that stained my shirt was just a make-shift "blood pack" I made with watered down ketchup in a ziplock bag, but it was realistic enough to elicit a scream or two from my more squeamish fellow drama geeks... But I had fun. ;~D My Jonesing for the next fix of adrenalin led me to a career in the US Army. I ask you though, what would a self respecting adrenalin junky do in the Army if not go Airborne? I also learned that there was more to adrenalin than skydiving, rappelling and rock climbing (all of which I enjoyed greatly). I also learned that there are adrenalin rushes to be had in doing security for concerts, wild land fire fighting, and disaster response and recovery. In other words, I learned that adrenalin for fun and recreation was awesome, but also in service to others and a great way to earn a living.