Inspiration

I like to watch survival shows - shows like "Survivorman" with Les Stroud, and "Man vs. Wild" with Bear Grylls. They are enjoyable to watch, as they mix education, adventure and often beautiful scenery. Bear Grylls did a show from the Sierra Nevada that I could watch over and over, even with the sound off. The place is just that gorgeous.

In that vein, a news story out tells of two Frenchmen surviving a terrible ordeal in the wilds of French Guiana.

"He was infested with worm parasites that had burrowed into his flesh and had trouble speaking and moving after swallowing venom from a poorly cooked giant spider. He was covered with bites. His brother, Gilles, said he looked like "he'd just come out of a concentration camp". His blood pressure had plummeted and doctors said that without proper nutrition he would have died within three days."

Wow. Seven weeks in the jungle - refutes the slanderous myth that the French are all a bunch of wimps.