Scary situations.

No need of enemas that day.

Well, there was that time I was detained by Cuban authorities for questioning. Then there was that time I was detained by Costa Rican authorities for questioning, and then there was that time I ended up in a $1 a night hostel with a bunch of drunken, heavily armed Nicarguan Contras and then .... see a pattern here?

Marc, I am guessing that the shark was a little concerned about all the mid-stream you have consumed. sharks have standards, too, you know.

hmmmmm...... let me see, let me see..... I have been shelled by syrians and lebanese, nothing quite like having 155 mm shells hitting your position... I have been shot at a few times.... I have had somebody charge at me with an ax..... had stones thrown at me from the rooftop of buildings..... been close enough to either see or hear a dozen or so suicide bombs.... been in a house fire..... detaned by Macedonian cops..... I would say that the ones that really stick in my mind were when I was scared for my wife and son's well being - when my wife's place of work was hit by a bomb and a half dozen people were killed, but she happened not to be in the cafeteria when the bomb went off.

1) Being put in Mexican jail (21 years old). 2) Seeing a car run a red light at S University Ave and W 32nd St during LA riots (23 years old). 3) Being far out in the ocean during a shark alert (12 years old).

Being stuck in an intractible rip tide and 15-20 foot surf off the coast of California. Oh, and the water was about 58 degrees and I didn't have a wetsuit. No sharks, though. Too cold.

Globetrotter, do you miss those days at all? I try not to put myself in harm's way. But: Being in the middle of a burning forest in the south of France at 11pm. But I wasn't really scared. When someone else does the panicking for you, you feel strangely calm. Doing a ski jump far beyond my abilities. I fainted in mid-air. Getting lost for several hours late in the day in a forest while hiking on my own. Being charged by a wild boar (climbed a tree). Being harassed by a group of young men. Got out of it by using humor. Etc, etc, etc.

Fabienne, ?.?. Did you come to before you landed and right yourself (is that even possible)? Or did you just come crashing down? Regards, Tony

Globe: Sounds like you and I have a lot in common, i.e. young men off in search of adventure, found in some cases more than we'd bargained for, and now just want to grow fat, old and happy with the old lady and the kids.

I was renting skis that day, and they were shorter (ie: faster) than my usual pair, so the jumb was several meters higher than I expected. I fainted and crashed. I came to with my face in the snow and broken sunglasses. I suppose my body was limp, and I didn't hurt myself for that very reason. People on ski lifts clapped...

What the hell do you do for a living?

Well I've been to prison, and I've engaged in fisticuffs and a knife fight, I was in a juvenile detention facility sharing a room with a kid who claimed to have killed his parents and was probably legally insane, I was in the general area of a drive-by shooting once, I hitch-hiked alone across some of the seedier parts of Mexico when I was 14, I was raised by my mother (laugh all you want, you don't know her) but I never panicked like I did when my 16 year old g/f told me she was pregnant. (I was 18)

I've got nothing on some of you guys.  I was nearly mugged in El Monte (CA), near some strip clubs, at around 2 a.m. by two guys.  Also had a "misunderstanding" (luckily  for me, didn't turn physical) with a guy who had about 50 pounds (solid muscle) on me and turned out to be a sparring partner for Ken Shamrock (a UFC fighter, for those who don't know).  I found this out later when we were cool and had a brief conversation.  Have been nearly  hit by cars on my bike numerous occasions, and several times nearly  plummeted off a cliff mountainbiking (granted, that is more an adrenaline rush than a real scare.)  That sounds like about it.   Never been shot at and no one has tried to bomb me.  Had a knife pulled on me once (El Monte).  That was enough.   I know that globetrotter was in the Israeli military.  But stu, what the hell  were you doing?