And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon!

And The Cow Jumped Over The Moon!

In the child’s nursery rhyme “Hey diddle diddle” we learn that besides the “dish running away with the spoon”, the cow was somehow able to leap over the moon!  Based on how we treat adventurous daredevils in modern society I suspect the cow would have been greeted with throngs of fans and hundreds of media even though the act was dangerous but was intended to garner attention and somehow end up in a record book!  Not much has changed since Bessie made the moon jump.  We still have people trying to set records with the goal of ending up in the Guinness Book of World Records! 

Recently swimmer Diana Nyad set a record by swimming from Cuba to Florida.  Her hour by hour attempt was chronicled on all the TV news programs.  Nyad did make it to Florida but now there is some question as to whether she was aided by her team by allowing her to hold unto the boat every now and then.  Nyad denies any assistance. But she has obviously become a celebrity in the minds of many.

Jonathan Trappe had to end his attempted trip across the Atlantic Ocean in a basket kept aloft by scores of balloons after twelve hours.  The 2,500 mile trip ended early much to his chagrin.  Wonder what would have happened had he encountered any plane traffic!

And there have been attempts to cross the Atlantic in a canoe and scores of other what I characterize as foolish attempts to garner attention and set some type of world record.  What is disturbing to me about these events is that often there is a problem with the record breaking attempt which requires the assistance of rescue personnel.  We’re talking Coast Guard, police, medical professionals and fire rescue.  These teams are called into action to rescue a swimmer, a mountain climber, a balloonist or others who are hell bent on getting their name in the media.  And frankly how many of us will remember Diana Nyad or Jonathan Trappe other than their families after they have completed their daredevil journey? 

Is there an answer to all this madness?  Probably not but I do think that anyone who embarks on one of these adventures either needs to purchase some type of surety bond that will cover all the expenses associated with any rescue attempt or short of that, the person who requires assistance by any outside agency should be billed for the rescue.  We do not need to place the lives of innocent rescue personnel in harm’s way to rescue some media seeking individual!  And that goes for Bessie the Cow too if she decides to jump over the moon again!

Bill Kalmar