Mild or Hot?

'127 Hours' is a great movie, it truly is an amazing story.  Although looking at some of Boyles previous films one might suggest he has a preoccupation with insanity.  I might even be so bold as to ask Mr. Boyle if he has ever suffered temporary insanity whether mild or extra hot.

I have, lets say it was hot, and I am not even talking about my wild crazy-teenage-girl blowouts one may have had the unfortunate time of seeing.  

It was a boiling hot day one weekend away in the dry bush.  I had set up the tent - arriving first because I managed to finish college early - and I decided that walking to the rock pools will provide the fuel to want to get there.  The thirst was suppose to get me going even faster to get hydrated but it only made me dehydrated.  And that is really the scientific way of saying you are going crazy.  Now that is something they don’t mention.  You hear how you will die without water but no one ever stresses how quickly one can go off their nutter just from the lack of a little sip sip sip.  

So, there I am hiking through a wilderness park, no shade in the arid area, no water close at hand, no map to keep me on the right track and alone.  Naturally I get lost because that is what one does when one is looking for a lone adventure.  And the 40 minute walk to the beautiful and natural rock pools turned into a walkabout some rocky terrain before eventually passing out.  

Now that is what I love about telling an insanity story.  The only version we have in this situation to get an idea of what exactly went down comes from the mouth of what is essentially a crazy person… so here is what I think happened.

I became disorientated from the heat and the lack of water.  Mix that in with epilepsy and a pack of baboons that start growling and what do we have?  One man down.  To me it felt like I stumbled and just turned around and walked back the way I came however as blood started dripping down my face and out of my legs I realized things might be a little bit more serious than I initially imagined because I cannot seem to remember where I was at that precise moment.  I had even cracked my ankle.  

The walk back was excruciating, lying down time and time again thinking that it would be easier to just lie there and die.

It took me the entire day to get back to the camp and the first thing I did was wash the blood off... drench my mouth in water then wash all the blood away.  Then I went to lie down. 

And that brings me back to the movie, it really showcased a mans will to survive and big ups to James Franco. He pulled it off.  The man keeps saying goodbye to the camera he has with him which shows how often he was willing to say goodbye before he was actually ready to give up… really.  And how time with friends and family means everything.  The latter should really be what we take home with us, to treasure our family and friends along with the moments, the phone calls, the laughter and the silly little messages.  In essence our loved ones are really what encapsulate our lives and treasuring moments with them is in actual fact just treasuring the life we live.