...and then it got cool

Last night Adam and I were high above a river and tipsy, crossing the bridge from North Fitzroy to West Garth in search of a quiet tavern in which to study... and later we crossed back. I thought of other bridges I'd crossed with other people. I told him about my thrill-seeking sister and how she made me climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge a few years back.

I thought of rope-bridge crossing with good mate Shiloh. It was the Carrick-a-Rede in Northern Ireland midway through 2001 when everyone reckons the world was different though it had already changed for me. She took a photograph of me and I took one of her in the midst of crossing. In mine I'm clasping both ropes - it was so windy and I was afraid. In hers, she's fearless. (Mark has that pic of me on his office desk).

There is The Whitney Pedestrian Bridge in Minneapolis - a bridge of yellow and blue, sand and water - that I've crossed more than any other. It spans umpteen lanes of traffic and I would always read that John Ashbury quote inscribed on its beams... The bit I remember, paraphrased from memory: "it is so much like a beach after all - a point at which you stop and think of going no further."

Bridges are meant for decision-making. The perilous height helps the process. By the time you reach the other side, you will have your answer... Ashbury's right, it is like a beach.

(...and later we crossed back)

"...and then it got cool" --J. Ashbury