aron ralston, we salute you

this morning at the gym, while i was riding the bike, i was watching american morning on cnn. i never watch tv except when i'm at the gym and i don't have any mags to read....

at any rate, aron ralston gets on the show... and i know this is old news (all about him and the 800 pound boulder and the chopping off of his own arm), but... damn. i still can't believe he cut off his own arm. his own arm. good lord. and then goes on to explain how you can't really chop through the bone... you need a bonesaw or something. so he broke it. he had to cut through nerves and shit. without any drugs or anesthesia.

and then he rappelled down a cliff and hiked 5 or 6 miles or something crazy like that...

and in his interview, he seemed so damned humble. like he hadn't done anything great or utterly manly.

apparently, he is back to doing all the shit he was doing before. i hope he remembers to take a buddy next time he goes climbing. heh.

anyway, it got me thinking... does something drastic like that need to happen for me to appreciate my own life and the people in my life? i dislike 90+% of all people i come into contact with... just their lack of intelligence irritates me and i find it extremely difficult to be civil.

even though bad things happen to me on occasion, does something horrible need to happen where i will have a daily physical reminder to appreciate people?

he said he had this great epiphany after he was free of the rock. he felt euphoric. i think if i had to chop off my own arm, i would be whining and crying about how i was missing a limb. i think i'd be so depressed without my right arm. especially since i'm so dominantly right-handed... i'd be such a goddamned crybaby and i'd expect everyone to take care of me. that's how selfish i really am.

i don't think i could do it. i really don't. i think i'd just stay there and die. talk about guts.

eh, i'm sure i'll get over it in about 5, 4, 3, 2... eh, okay. i'm better now.