Mike Sela

So a few years ago, my daughter was home for the summer from college, and we decided to go to Disneyland for a few days, where we did a few things that really brought me joy.

One, a bunch of the roller coasters there have cameras that take a picture at the scariest moment.

And my shtick that I've done for years is that I like to do a big exaggerated yawn right when they take the picture.

So you see them, and everyone looks really scared, and there I am in the middle, just aggressively bored.

And Parker did it with me, which really pleased me very much.

And I learned about her.

I learned that one of the things on her bucket list is that she wants to go skydiving one day.

And I thought, wow, that makes one of us weirdo.

Because I have a big fear of heights.

I'm uncomfortable on a ladder, let alone walking off of an airplane voluntarily.

But I took this thought and I stored it away.

And a few days later, I'm chatting with my wife.

And somehow, the words that came out of my mouth were, we should all go skydiving for Parker's birthday.

When what I was thinking was, I will get out of this somehow.

But her birthday was months away, and I thought, this is a problem for Future Mike, and I pushed all my fear down into my bowels.

A few months later, Future Mike wakes up, and it's skydiving day.

And I'm Future Mike.

And my bowels are very unhappy.

But I drive us to the Watsonville Airport, and we check in for our skydiving appointment.

And there's a bunch of forms to fill out that very specifically list all the different types of death and dismemberment that you promise not to sue them for.