“Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts and Other Artists’ Enumerations from the Archives of American Art”
Map: 1st Lt. Clair Tracy’s Journey
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1st Lt. Clair Tracy’s Journey in a larger map
First Person: Reporter fights her fears
I, like many others, had walked by the trapeze school’s rig set up in downtown D.C. repeatedly before taking the plunge. It looked like one of those ‘bucket list’ things everyone should try at some point. That, and Carrie Bradshaw had turned tricks on the trapeze once in Sex and the City and anything I can do to make myself more like my fictional, Louboutin-clad hero, I’m down.
Fortunately I was too focused on conducting interviews with students and getting video to really stress much about what I was about to do. There were three of us out of a class of about 10 who were first-timers. We were given a quick lesson on a mat — how to hold the bar, when to flip our legs around the bar, when to let go. We took a go on the practice bar and did a few swings, flipped our legs over the bar and then let go. While hanging upside down with nothing but my legs holding onto the bar, I realized this was going to be a terrifying experience.
When it was my turn for the real deal, I clipped the ropes to my harness and started up the ladder. My knees were shaking uncontrollably at this point. I got to the top and broke the cardinal rule — I looked down. Towering 20 feet above the hard, uneven pavement, I really started questioning my judgment. Why couldn’t I have just observed a class? Screw Carrie Bradshaw.
The instructor at the top tried to calm me down as I coated my hands in white powder to help with my grip. Then he told me to stand with my toes off the platform. Was he insane? In what I’m sure looked very contorted and uncomfortable, I did as he said while he tightly held my harness from behind. He told me to let go of the pole I was gripping for dear life and reach out and grab the bar with one hand. I can only imagine the look I shot the instructor at this point. My classmates started shouting words of encouragement and I realized I’d gotten myself into this mess, I had to get myself out. And the only way out was down.
Once I had the bar in both hands and was leaning toward the net below me, I heard my call: “Hep!” And so I jumped. Luckily, time was flying by and I didn’t have much of a chance to think about the fact that I was gripping a bar and flying through the air. The instructor called for me to swing my legs up and over the bar then back down again. Next thing I knew, I was safely on the net about 10 feet off the ground. I had survived. And it had actually been pretty fun.
I got to take three more turns, each getting a little more relaxed. By the end of class, I had hung from my knees and done a back flip. Not too shabby considering I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to jump off the plank. I was sore for several days after the class, and I couldn’t lift my arms over my head. But I had learned to let go, literally and figuratively. And it made for a hell of a conversation starter for weeks to come. –Rebecca Heslin
Golfers, fans separate skills from scandals
SHIRLINGTON, VA. – When Bryce Thomas came in to work his shift at the Washington Golf Center on Black Friday, he expected his day to be about sales, not scandals.
But when reports surfaced that Tiger Woods was involved in a mysterious single-car accident earlier that morning, it became impossible to avoid. Golfers, fans separate skills from scandals – continue reading
