09 November 2010

Walking the Rope


I started watching Man on Wire last night. It's a (not new) documentary about Phillipe Petit -- the high wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Unfortunately, I was exhausted and couldn't finish watching it (I will some time this week...). But what is sticking in my mind is the images of him dangling in the sky on a thread. I don't have the best balance -- in fact, you might even say I can be very clutsy at times -- so I can't imagine ever getting the nerve to even walk a tightrope that is a foot off the ground, yet alone 110 stories up in the air. These images of him walking between the Notre Dame, Sydney Harbor Bridge, and the World Trade Center are eerie and exciting. They make my stomach drop and are absolutely breath-taking at the same time.

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