Taking The Fall - 315 Feet Down For Special Olympics

Ever have that dream, the one where you’re plummeting to the earth, reaching out for anything to stop your fall?  But the greatest reward, above all the hype, is the joy of knowing that they risked their lives so others could enjoy theirs.

Jessica Goolsby
Wednesday - November 25, 2009
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Here, Goolsby rappels from a 25-foot practice run prior to the 31-story challenge ahead of her

OK ... bye! No! Wait! Not bye! Not bye! See you at the bottom!” panicked one of my fellow rappellers at the recent Over the Edge of Waikiki event in support of Special Olympics Hawaii. She lived to tell the tale, as did I, and boy, what a tale to tell!

It started off easy enough: I arrived at the Sheraton Waikiki a little early for my scheduled descent from the top of the 31-story building with near-zero fear of what was to come. Though for a good cause, the impending drop from 315 feet down to the hotel’s Edge of Waikiki infinity pool and bar had me thinking I’d be needing a nice stiff drink after such a feat.

I’ll admit, I did it to myself. Originally, one of my co-workers was scheduled to do the rappel, but after making the ever-fatal mistake of mentioning the death-defying assignment to his wife, he was ordered not to take part in the event for fear of losing her main man.


“Well, I am the wife,” I piped in, “so I don’t have to ask anyone permission!”

Thus I was signed up for the gig.

MidWeek’s Jessica Goolsby goes “Over the Edge” of the Sheraton Waikiki’s 31st floor in support of Special Olympics Hawaii’s 2009 Holiday Classic

Curtain up on me, strapped in, ready to go and waiting my turn to take part in the “bunny slope” for the rappel - a 25-foot practice run for those of us participating to “get the feel for the drop,” so to speak. While standing in front of my instructor (and viable lifeline), he quickly gave me the basics of rappelling. “All right, clipped in, good to go. Now look: red thing, blue handle. This controls your fall.”

Why say “fall”? I’ll tell ya, not the best choice of wording. A crazy “Oh my God, get me down and get me a change of underwear!” arm motion was demonstrated as the call-for-help signal, after which I was instructed up and over the railing and left facing my instructor on the bad side of a good deal. “Now, lean back and bring your butt level with your feet,” he said.

What!? That would put me parallel to the concrete and koi pond down below! What was he thinking?

For a moment it seemed as though I might be sleeping with the fishes, literally, but nevertheless, I leaned back, eyes shut, thankful to feel the rope pull taught with my weight and not the stomach-lifting feeling of falling to my death. As instructed, I lifted the dangling rope from hip to shoulder level with my right hand while gently squeezing the “red thing, blue handle” to allow the rope to feed through the pulley. Calmly and swiftly lowering myself to the ground, I landed on my feet, where I was congratulated for “looking like a pro” and asked if I had done this before.

Matt Waskiewicz makes sure Goolsby is properly secured for her “death-defying feat”

“All right,” I thought. “I’ve got this.”

Up on the roof I was feeling cool and confident. Left to go last out of the group of media thrill-seekers, I watched as others lowered themselves “Over the Edge” and safely to the ground. “No sweat,” I thought. At least I knew the rope would hold.

Flash forward to my turn. When I finally got to climb the scaffolding to the rappel site, the view was immaculate. Diamond Head seemed close enough to reach out and touch to my left; an endless view of beach and ocean stretched out ahead of me. Not half bad for a possible way to go. So up and over the rim I went, and let me tell you, leaning back this time was a little more daunting.


As I made my way down, I took time to take in the beauty of my surroundings. A crowd had gathered below to watch the rappel, and as the announcer said my name, onlookers cheered me on. The lovely hotel amenities backed by beach and island palms brought a whole new meaning to “falling

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