Jumping into the Abyss Anonymous

So there I was. Peering over the edge I saw nothing but dark, ominous water on top of what seemed to be a 40-foot high cliff. I know, with today’s 300 feet tall roller coasters, skydiving, and other high-risk adventurous activities for the typical thrill-seeker, 40 feet might seem childish. But, let me tell you, its not. Not until you are up there staring into a mysterious body of water somewhere in a Southeastern Mexican jungle.

I admit it: I am not much of a religious man. But believe me, I was saying every Hail Mary and Our Father I could possibly remember. Meanwhile,the tour guide is shouting last minute warnings, in Spanish, nonetheless, a language I was hardly familiar with at the time: “Keep your arms tight against your body. Don’t extend them or you might separate your shoulders!” Great. Before then, I had only jumped off diving boards at the local pool, where I did not have to worry about landing wrong and tearing my ligaments right from their sockets. But alas, there I was, on that peak, and there was no turning back. So I closed my eyes and jumped…

This story, though, really begins many years earlier, during my childhood. I grew up in Michigan, the same city and house my whole life, only to graduate high school and...