With Bare Hands the Story of a Reallife Spiderman by Alain Robert

Author:Alain Robert
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-81-8495-272-8
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

7

LIBERTY BELL

L

ife is a journey, a scrolling pageant of scenery. As we travel this road, events can pass harmlessly by or accidentally crash into us. If we are going too fast or not paying enough attention, we can spin out of control, fly off the tarmac. Sometimes a road hog shunts us out of our lane before a junction and we end up by chance on a different but equally beautiful road. Though we try to direct our lives, fate makes us ball-bearings in a great pinball machine, sailing and bouncing through permanent chaos between disaster and success. Philadelphia was the scene of such an experience for me — events conspired to drag me through the rapids of a quite unplanned adventure. Philadelphia was once the capital of the United States and was known as the city of freedom, as embodied by a bell cast way back in 1752: the 'Liberty Bell'.

It is the 1990s and I am scratching around for sponsors to fund my escalations. I bag Outlaw, and they agree to become my clothing sponsor. Their head office is in Toronto, and an all-expenses-paid invitation to fly out to climb a building in the city comes my way. Knowing the climbing potential of this modern Canadian city, I tell them I will be there. Many such invitations come to nothing, but Outlaw and I make good progress and I get ready to pack a whole collection of slippers in my luggage. Before location scouting, I never know which equipment I am going to use for an ascent. Some slippers fit better with cracks or gaps in a building while others provide superior adhesion to the surface.

To add another interesting dimension, I hear the escalation will tie in somehow with a performance by electro-rock group Hors La Loi. And then, a day before my departure, a late phone call from the boss announces laconically that the operation is — wait for it — cancelled, because of pressure from Outlaw's lawyers and some other legal advisers. The price of my plane ticket will be reimbursed. Thank you. Goodbye.

Sponsoring these kinds of escalations abroad seems to raise no problems for multinationals, but on their territory, in their own country, it is much more complicated. When you are a safe distance away it is easy to benefit from an outside news item, to hit and run. Coming from one of my reliable sponsors, this about-turn hits me hard, like an act of treason. I shrug and keep my plane ticket. My bag is packed. I am keyed up to go climb a skyscraper! Maybe I can achieve my own ascent of a Toronto tower. But still, I am not happy. I consider that risk-taking must be shared. I put my life and my freedom on the line and my sponsors should honour our agreements and support my escalation. Surely this is fair. I phone around to grumble and soon get through to Julie, my agent.

Julie succeeds in persuading me to 'let the

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