Wallenda's Key Message: Don't Give Up!

Last night an estimated 1 billion people watched Nik Wallenda's historic border crossing from the US to Canada.  It is historic, of course, because he was crossing over the horseshoe falls; something nobody has ever done, nor likely ever will do, again.  Yes, people had crossed Niagara Gorge on a tight-rope, but nobody had ever done it over the falls themselves with issues like the heavy mist to contend with.

Speaking of the crossing, I thought it was cute when the Canadian border guards who met him asked to see his passport and Wallenda made a joke of sighing as if he forgot it and had to go back across to get it.  It was a subtle, but wonderfully executed little joke, before he pulled the passport (which had been in a sealed plastic bag) out. He then promised them that he wasn't bringing anything across with him.  When asked the nature of his visit to Canada Wallenda said:  "To inspire people around the world."

Nik Wallenda walks over Niagara Falls on a tightrope in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Friday, June 15, 2012. (Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

He certainly did that.

Wallenda fought for two years to get the permission from both countries to be able to do this stunt; in the face of being told it would never happen (stunts at Niagara Falls have been banned for almost 130 years), Nik and his family and team never gave up.  They made it happen.  They even made a small compromise with ABC, who insisted that he be tethered, for the purpose of the broadcast.  (Not that he needed the tether - he never faltered once during his trek across, which took less than half an hour - and he never lost the calm focus that kept him on track and on balance despite the challenges odds of wind, mist and low visibility)

Francine and I let Alexander stay up to watch this historic event.  And it really was something to see.  We had talked about making the trip down to see it live, but the ABC broadcast was well-done and offered some amazing views and perspective. 

In my mind, the message that Wallenda offered was a critical and important one that can be interpreted by individuals into whatever their dreams are.  For me, (for example), it would be related to writing and the importance of concentration, focus and training that Wallenda spoke about; for someone else, it is whatever dreams or goals they might hold fast in their heart.  But chances are, it involves the same sort of dedication, concentration, focus and training.

One of the wonderful scenes at Brick City on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls, Ontario

It was a wonderful event to watch live, but, as stated, what I was most impressed with was Wallenda's ongoing message in this stunt:  Don't give up! Pursue your dreams! 

He said it beautifully, and it's something for us to all keep in mind as we pursue our dreams and work at the goals that we set for ourselves.  I know that I'll keep his words in mind.

"The impossible isn't quite the impossible if you set your mind to it!"

Bizarre Halloween Nightmare

I normally don't blog about dreams that I've had - however, I've been working on the latest draft of my forthcoming novel I, DEATH and recently going back and doing touch-ups on scenes in the first third of the novel where the main character Peter O'Mallick - a teenager convinced he has some sort of supernatural death curse because the people around him are dropping like flies - is blogging about nightmares he has been having.

Because I'm trying to spend every free moment working on the novel, it's the first thing I think about when I wake up.

So last night, I had a very vivid dream about being woken up by a noise in the house.

It seemed normal and natural, because at 1:30 AM, I HAD ACTUALLY awoken to a strange BUMP in the night.

For real. It was no dream. A loud noise coming from downstairs woke me.

I sat up, heard another loud thump. Then another. I wasn't frightened though, because I recognized the sound immediately. It was our dwarf rabbit, Earl, thumping his back paw. He does this when he's particularly pissed off about something. And when he does it in his cage (with a plastic bottom that reverberates quite loudly off the tile floor), you can hear it, quite loud, through the entire house.

I figured that Earl had run out of food so I went downstairs to check on him.

He had plenty of water, pellets and hay (he even had half a tortilla chip - a treat we'd given him before bedtime). So he wasn't annoyed about the food situation. I reached into his cage and petted him, thinking maybe he was lonely. But then he thumped a couple more times.

I thought maybe he was thumping to alert us of something (a common reason why rabbits thump is to warn other rabbits of danger), so I peered out into the back yard - nothing. Then I went to the front to check the front yard and our quite elaborate Halloween decorations (always leery of vandals) - everything there was fine.

Earl thumped one more time. I told him to knock it off, got a glass of water, gave him a small handful of Cheerios, then went back up to bed.

He ceased the thumping and I went back to sleep.

Some time later is when I had the nightmare. In the dream, I woke to a strange noise. I, naturally, assumed it was Earl "voicing" his displeasure to the rest of the house. I sat up, shook my head and then threw the covers back, thinking I might as well head downstairs and continue work on my novel. I was annoyed to be woken, but didn't feel tired - so was actually feeling pleased with the thought of having some time to work on the book.

As I walked over to my dresser and leaned down to pull out a pair of pajama bottoms from the bottom shelf, I saw a shadowy figure standing quietly and motionlessly in our bedroom doorway.

I shook my head and did a double-take. It was a dark, very tall figure, obviously not Alexander coming in from his room. My heart leapt into my throat.

There was someone in our house!

I scrambled to grab the mag lite that I keep on my side of the bed.

"Get out!" I tried to scream at the dark figure, and at the same time I tried calling out to Francine to call 911; but my voice was breaking, I could barely push any words out. I lunged toward the door with the mag-lite raised high, ready to strike, and the figure turned around and quickly started moving down the stairs. I began to chase him.

As he moved down the steps, he moved through a beam of moonlight coming in from outside. That's when I saw the unique black with white smudge pattern of the robes he was wearing and realized the figure walking through our upstairs was the grim reaper from our front lawn Halloween decorations.

The Grim Reaper who stands at the front left side of our yard this Halloween

That's when I woke up for real.

Wow! Strange dream. But still pretty cool.

I still find it interesting that I wasn't as afraid of some strange dark figure that broke into our house (remember, I was prepared to chase after him and whack him with my mag-lite) as I was of an inanimate lawn decoration stalking through the house. The fact it was a "monster" is what scared me so much I woke from the dream.

For the record, this morning, once the sun came up, I went outside to check to make sure the grim reaper was still standing where I left him. He was. So I took the picture posted here.

After I snapped the shot, I could have sworn that he offered me a wry grin and a quick wink.

But then again, my imagination often gets the best of me.