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SPEAK
RIDIN' THE RIPCORD
Matt and I stood shoulder-to-shoulder, with Kindra and Nathaniel, my boyfriend at the time, on either side of us as we watched a horrifying spectacle unfold before us. A young couple had just been attached to the cable of the Ripcord and was, ever so slowly, inching toward the sun. Within seconds, they were dangling horizontally with almost a full football field's length between them and a small, algae-covered lake below. I clenched the fence railing in front of me tightly as I heard the ride attendant count down with a hint of dramatic flair, "3 . 2 . 1 . . 1 . Fly!." The flyer on the right reached behind him and pulled the ripcord. Instantly, the two became a blur plummeting toward the earth.
I turned to my left with a look of awe and disbelief to find that Matt was no longer there. He was in the last place I'd look; in line to sign up for the ride. In the few seconds that I had watched the pair almost plummet to their deaths, Kindra had batted her big brown eyes at Matt and convinced him to do the same.
HOW ONE JAYPLAY WRITER OVERCAME HER FEAR OF HEIGHTS AND LEARNED TO JUST ENJOY THE RIDE
"Yeah, whatever. I'll do it if you do it." My friend Matt and I squinted up at my most-feared ride at Worlds of Fun: the RipCord, a ride that lifts you up in a harness more than 180 feet above the ground and drops you to free fall towards the earth at 80 miles per hour. I was afraid of heights, so there was no way I was getting on that ride. Two years earlier, I had almost hyperventilated on my first airplane ride to Chicago. And six years before that, the dizziness I had experienced in the nosebleed section of Kemper Arena had almost caused me to miss my favorite concert to date: the Backstreet Boys' Millennium Tour. But Matt was as freaked about heights as I was. I wasn't worried.
My mistake. I hadn't considered the one thing that can stomp out cold feet almost 100 percent of the time, and that thing is love. Matt was a bit of a chicken, but he was also madly in love with Kindra, his high school girlfriend. Kindra, for some silly reason, had her heart set on being lifted almost 200 feet off the ground and let go—and she wanted Matt to go with her. I'm sure you can see where this is going.
I laughed in denial. No way he'll actually go through with it. He'll chicken out before he
puts his name on the sign-up sheet, I thought. But then, I watched the black pen in his hand sweep across the white paper.
I chuckled nervously. No worries. Matt and Kindra's appointment wasn't until 12:30 p.m.
That was 15 minutes from now. He'd talk himself out of it before then.
"12:30," a ride attendant called behind me. I whipped around and saw our little bet turning into a really big problem. I felt what little faith I had left in Matt's phobia slowly draining out of me. I'm in trouble, I thought.
And I was right, because before I knew it Matt and Kindra had left our little world on the ground, only to return with disheveled hair splaying every way and ecstatic, adrenaline-charged smiles.
I was going to have to do it. My signature wavered ever so slightly as my shaky hands drew my name next to Nathaniel's on the sign-up sheet for the 1:15 ride. Whose name was that? Certainly not mine, I desperately tried to convince myself. Oh, denial.
The next 15 minutes dragged on and ended
too quickly. I sat in the waiting area, shaky hands clenched between wobbly knees, smiling nervously and glancing at the clock every five seconds as I tried to convince myself I was fearless. Yeah, right.
"1:15," the ride attendant hollered. He flashed a reassuring smile at me as he led us into the ride. We stepped into our full-body harnesses and fastened them — not an easy task with quivering hands — and listened as Jake, the ride attendant, explained what would happen next. After we were suited up, we followed him onto the deck. I glanced at the murky water around me and wondered if I'd still have to go if I "accidentally" fell into it. That thought came too late — we had arrived at the loading dock. Jake attached both of our harnesses to the cable and then told us to link arms and fall forward. Then, I felt lurch upwards ever so slightly as the cord began to pull.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..." Suddenly, I lost control of all speech and I couldn't shut up. Those three words flew out of my mouth over and over again. The people
below looked like they could fit in the palm of my hand.
I spent the rest of the climb in the quiet darkness of my own eyelids.
"Oh my God, are we there yet?" I glanced behind us. Big mistake. We were only about halfway up, and my anxiety turned into full-blown panic. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..."
Then, a miracle occurred. We finally stopped. I heard the same ride attendant from before say, "3, 2, 1...". But before he could even finish his phrase, Nathaniel yanked on the ripcord. I opened my eyes and screamed my loudest as we plunged straight down.
After a few agonizing seconds of free fall, the ride caught us, and we soared through the air with our arms spread wide. And that's when I heard a familiar sound: a laugh — my laugh. Yes, I was laughing, with my mouth wide open, and I didn't stop until my jelly legs hit pavement again.
That wasn't my last encounter with the RipCord. I've ridden it three more times since then, and I have to say, the last time I did it wasn't any less scary than the first — or any less exhilarating. That first ride taught me something: facing your fears isn't always such a bad thing — it's actually pretty self-liberating and, dare I say, fun. And while skydiving may not be in my near future, I'm not completely ruling it out, either.
// JUSTINE PATTON
Contributed photo
15
New heights: Justine Patton (right) gets ready to face her fear of heights by going on the RipCord with her boyfriend at the time, Nathaniel Vigil (far left), at Kansas City's Worlds of Fun.
President-elect Gabe Bliss graphic flashed on screen that the room erupted in racous applause and yelling.
Graphic by Clayton Ashley/KANSAN
21 SEATS WON
"Our success is undeniable." Johnson said in a speech after the results. "We had a great, great turnout."
The KUnited coalition, for the second year in a row, dominated student senate elections winning 41 out of 64 possible seats. Renew KU picked up 21 senate seats. Three of the election winners were listed as independent.
41 SEATS WON
EX GARRISON
json@kansan.com
KU vows
nue with
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never really about
the Renew KU signed hard, but s — that KUnitedions, getting the vice-presidential percent of the vote mating seats as it the past 17 years the room of about id supporters was
presidential caniner summed up by others later, underdog can be an hurt.
this knowing it she said.
SEE KUNITED ON PAGE 6A
KUJH Check out KUJH for more coverage of this week's elections and the reactions of the coalition members
maybe couldn't faith that it was
aise I think I'm'
Brian Gilmore,
speka who was
of Liberal Arts and Sciences seat. "Iran because I believe in this coalition."
Briner and vice-presidential candidate Josh Dean said they were proud of their coalition and also of the 20.9 percent voter turnout, almost 10 percent greater than last year.
"We did what we wanted to do." Briner said. "We started conversations that wouldn't have happened had we not run."
As the night continued, Renew KU members kept up their resolve,
- Edited by Samantha Collins
SEE RENEW KU ON PAGE 6A
CRIME
Students vandalize Learned Hall cause damage to safety supplies
BY ALEX GARRISON agarrison@kansan.com
Several students reported a theft of a fire extinguisher and an erroneous discharge of a safety shower in a lab inside Learned Hall, at
15th and Naismith streets, early Saturday morning. The Public Safety Office report from the incident states that two 20-year old men from Overland Park were arrested at the scene.
Learned, Eaton and Spahr Halls are unlocked at almost all times, said Jill Hummels, director of public relations for the School of Engineering.
Public Safety assessed the damage at $45.
CRIME
"Peeping Tom" shocks showerers
BY ROSHNI OOMMEN roommen@kansan.com
Three times this week, a man walked into a women's residence hall restroom, opened a shower curtain and watched a woman shower. Now the police are searching for that man, according to a press release by the KU Public Safety Office.
At 7:20 p.m. on Monday, the man walked into a women's restroom in Hashinger Hall and watched women
showering. At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday he went into a women's restroom in McColum Hall and did the same thing. Shortly afterward, at 7:40 a.m., another instance of voeurism by the same man was reported.
"If we do get video of him, it will be released to the public." Bailey said.
the KU Police are looking at video footage from the residence halls to see if they can find footage of the suspect.
The KU Public Safety Office is asking for any information available in finding the man. Its phone number is 785-864-5900.
The police report said that the man entered the dorms by "tallgating", which could either mean that he followed on students' heels into the building or waited around until someone unlocked the door. Captain Schuyler Bailey said
Edited by Sarah Gregory
TICKETS | 3A
One more sentenced for KU ticket scandal
Charlotte Blubaugh was sentenced for 57 months.