Over two months ago, I ruminated here about the wisdom of wealthy adventurers splashing their millions in the course of accomplishing death-defying feats that would rob them of the chance to live out their twilight years in relative safety and comfort.
The disappearance of Steve Fossett, flying over the Sierra Nevada range provided the impetus for writing the article, which explored (pun unintended) the predilection Fossett and his ilk (add friend and British entrepreneur Richard Branson) have for flirting with danger, while the rest of us plebs looked on in bemusement.
I might want a free ride in a hot air balloon, or slam the accelerator in a high-powered jet engine across the Bonneville Salt Flats, but if I've a healthy bank balance of millions in the bank, count me out for any daredevil stuff.
"Wimp," I can almost hear someone say. Well, I do like adventure and the old cliché that money isn't everything applies. But, it does help if I'm a forgotten septuagenarian, eating dog biscuits with ill-fitting dentures.
I considered a reference to race in the posting, but Bart Vandever, did provide a humorous comeback in a reply, referring to comedian Chris Rock's sketch on black people never doing such "crazy ass" antics. "They're (sic) life is already dangerous enough" [dodging drive-by shootings], he added.
Fossett's wife Peggy, no doubt missed her husband at Thanksgiving dinner, and today's announcement means she has resigned herself to the fact that he won't be around for Christmas either.
It's a tragic admission to have to go to court to get her husband declared dead. More so at a time of the year when the festive cheer is so contagious. Speculation is that the 63-year-old adventurer, who cheated death on many occasions, would have survived with limited rations given his physical condition. But after an exhaustive search, holding out hope of finding him alive after two months in harsh terrain, would surely present new extremes of human endurance.
And so marks the final chapter in a 38-year marriage. My sympathies lie with Peggy Fossett and no humor can be found in his death, except in a reckless lifestyle that Messrs. Rock, Murphy and others parody.