Call Me Icarus 



By Daun Daemon Photographs by Michael Halminski 



'hat is it about edging toward 

 40 that makes a person want to take 

 risks, do something daring, try to feel 

 youthful and vibrant again? You know 

 ... heart racing, palms sweating, 

 adrenalin surging? 



Some folks jet to France to seek 

 romance with a dreamy-eyed Parisian 

 who speaks a lilting tongue and proffers 

 sinful pastries. Others quit their 

 corporate jobs, move to the mountaintop 

 and write mystery novels. And still 

 others confront their phobias, challeng- 

 ing themselves to lose their fears. 



I felt the urge for a blood-pumping 

 adventure a while back, around the time 

 I turned 36. And it didn't take long for 

 me to figure out how to capture that 

 feeling without traveling all the way to 

 Europe for a fling, giving up my job 

 security or letting a tarantula crawl up 

 my arm. 



Like many people, Fve always 

 wanted to fly, to feel my feet rise from 

 the ground and the wind lift me into the 

 blue. Reared in the upper foothills of 



North Carolina, I was captivated by the 

 story of The Blowing Rock. Legend has 

 it that a Cherokee brave jumped off the 

 outcrop rather than choose between 

 loyalty to his tribe and the Chickasaw 

 maiden he had come to love. Days later, 

 a wind blowing up from the valley floor 

 tossed him back into his lover's arms. 



That's certainly one way to go 

 airborne, I thought. Not one I was 

 willing to try, though I distinctly 

 remember standing close to the preci- 

 pice and wondering how far out I'd 

 have to jump before the updraft caught 

 me and threw me back onto the rock. 



As a teen-ager, I had more reason- 

 able aero-aspirations. I was transfixed 

 by the sight of daring hang gliders 

 sailing above green valleys. One day, 

 I thought, maybe I'll try that. 



In April, that day finally came. 



Just an Average Student 



The folks at Kitty Hawk Kites, the 

 world's oldest and largest hang gliding 

 school, are so enthusiastic about their 



sport that when I arrive for my lesson I 

 never doubt I can get into a glider and 

 float over the sand at Jockey's Ridge 

 without mishap. 



According to Bruce Weaver, 

 director of the flight school, "It's 

 something that anybody can do. It's not a 

 physical sport at all. If you have the 

 desire to fly, you can literally fly on a 

 hang glider." 



Hearing those words prior to my 

 lesson is reassuring, even though the 

 misgivings of my family, friends and 

 coworkers echo in my mind. My father: 

 "Daun, I don't think it's a good idea — 

 you never were what I'd call an athletic 

 child." A colleague: "Hey, I wonder 

 what the return on a $100 investment in 

 your life insurance policy would be." 



As it turns out, my father has no 

 reason to worry, and my colleague ... 

 well, he shouldn't quit his day job. 



Kitty Hawk Kites, founded in 1974, 

 launches 10,000 to 15,000 student pilots 

 into the air each year. Of those, only a 

 handful — on average, five or six — will 



2 JULY/AUGUST 1997 



