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Second Chance Idol Topic 2: High Wire Act
Feb. 23rd, 2012 05:14 pm"You want to what?!" George Edson cried as he spat out his ale in indignation.
"Yes, I will be the first person to go over Niagra Falls in a barrel," his sister, Annie Edson Taylor replied calmly. She got up, retrieved some rags off the stove and started wiping away the ale ejected by her brother.
"You are serious?" He said, after a moment.
"Yes."
"What has gotten into you? Have you become even more batty in your old age?"
"I am destitute, George, you know this. I have no living, I have no children to take care of me. I do not expect you to incur my expenses with six children of your own and no wife."
"You are 62 years old, Annie. No spruce chicken. Leave daredeviling to the young and foolhardy."
"You know I have tried everything. Teaching, opening my dance school only to find no pupils, being a governess, a maid, and a shop clerk. It is either doing this, or going to the poor house."
"You are well past the days when you jumped off the stables just to prove Edgar and Thomas that you are fearless. What did that teach you?"
"What I must never run away from a challenge," she replied.
"I was hoping that broken arms are not worth your pride and arrogance," he muttered.
"George, you must help me," she said in a serious tone. "The World Fair is taking place in Buffalo, New York this year. If I am successful, I will have the fame and fortune I have always dreamed of."
"What do I have to do with this?"
"You are a carpenter. I know you can help construct the barrel that will achieve the feat."
George sighed and looked in his sister's eyes. He wished the same enthusiasm she expressed for her ludicrous ideas would work to keep her employed instead of constantly chasing the prospect of infamy. Her sass and charisma worked to her detriment, her employers never wishing to deal with such a head-strong woman. Unfortunately her own business prospects never came to fruition. It was just like Annie to want to risk everything for a stunt like this.
"What do you have in mind?" He finally asked.
She smiled and retrieved a paper from her skirt pocket. "I was thinking of a design like this..."
"Papa, Iagara is going to be alright, isn't she?" Clara Edson asked her father as she held Iagara, yowling with fright in her carrier. She did obviously not know what was in store for her as she sat in the rowboat going down the Niagra River.
Her brother, John, working the oars smirked. The cat's a goner! he thought to himself, but said nothing, not wanting to scare his sister.
"Yes, darling. I constructed this barrel for your crazy aunt's shenanigans and I swear by its durability," George Edson replied. "Unfortunately, Mr. Russel wanted proof of its strength and that is why Iagara is here today." George did not trust Frank Russel, who Annie chose as her publicist. There was something very shifty about his smug expression and the way he promised Annie fortune and fame with his own profiteering ambitions.
George readied the barrel, which was floating by a rope attached to the rowboat. George Edston took pride in his creation, though he was reluctant to admit it in front of his sister. It was her idea to line the inside with a mattress to prevent injury, but it was his to construct the barrel with steel and oak wood for increased strength. He opened the lid. "In she goes..." George mentioned to Clara.
Clara carefully opened Iagara's carrier and quickly put her inside the barrel as Iagara hissed and struggled to escape. "Papa promises you'll be fine," Clara said soothingly as her cat's meows echoed inside the barrel. "But a little good luck won't hurt." Clara placed a heart-shaped pillow into the barrel with Iagara.
"I made this last week for both Iagara and Aunt Annie to use during their trips," she explained.
George screwed the lid back on and retrieved the bicycle pump. "This is to give Iagara some air so she doesn't suffocate," George said as he pumped up the barrel. He quickly put a cork into the hole.
"See ya, Iagara!" John yelled as the barrel was cut loose from the boat and floated down the river towards Horseshoe Falls.
"Hurry, John," George commanded, taking a place next to George by the oars and helping him paddle. "We can still park the boat in time to see Iagara off."
As soon as the boat hit shore, Clara and George ran off to follow Iagara's barrel as it dropped down the edge of the falls. Clara gasped. "Iagara!" she cried.
George patted his daughter's back. "Your aunt and Mr. Russel are at the bottom. They will retrieve Iagara and she will be the most famous cat in the world!" George soothed.
By the time George and Clara navigated their way to the bottom of the falls she found Annie and Frank holding Iagara , visibly shaken yet alive and well, in a carrier. Frank Russell had a long, red mark across his face and was clearly perturbed.
"Iagara!" Clara cried, running to her cat. She opened her carrier and embraced her as she meowed, relenting to the added fuss.
"You did it, George!" Annie exclaimed, embracing him. "Iagara is unharmed. Your barrel withstood the falls and I can go ahead with my own feat!"
"Your cat scratched me up," Frank complained. "But it did prove that the barrel is hardy. I will schedule Ms. Taylor's own trip to take place two days from now."
"I also found this," Annie said, handing Clara her pillow."
"I want you to have it, Aunt Annie," Clara replied, handing it back to her.
"Thank you, my dearest," she said, clutching it to her chest. "It will protect me as it protected your feline companion."
Annie Edson Taylor's own trip down the falls was not unlike her niece's cat's. It was October 24th, 1901. Her 63rd birthday. She crawled into the barrel, clutching Clara's lucky pillow as family friends screwed shut the lid and pumped the barrel with air from the same bicycle pump. They all patted the barrel as it was cut loose from the rowboat. However, this time Clara and George would be waiting at the bottom for her along with Mr. Russel and a small band of newspaper reporters.
"God be with you!" They yelled.
Annie had her own prayers inside her 4-foot-tall barrel. "Oh heavenly Father," she prayed, crossing her chest, "Please let me survive this ordeal so I may not die in the poorhouse," she murmured. She could hear the roaring waters going over the edge of the falls getting louder and louder until it was deafening. Her barrel began to rock harder and harder. Her heart raced as she realized she would be going over the falls any second now. She secured herself in the straps built into the barrel.
She closed her eyes as the barrel twisted and convulsed under the massive pressure of the falls. She had gone over! She tumbled inside the barrel as it refused to succumb to the raging Horseshoe Falls. She could hardly think while she bounced around in the barrel like children shaking captured stink bugs in a jar. With a final jolt, the barrel grew calmer. It still shook and the roaring of the falls was as loud as ever, but she was no longer tumbling frantically inside the barrel. The barrel was at the foot of the falls! She had survived!
The next twenty minutes were as torturous as the first twenty going downstream. It had taken that long for her barrel to be far enough away from falls to be safely rescued. Annie began to panic as she thought she would never be let out. She would run out of air and suffocate! Before she thought about screaming for help, she could hear her brother's voice in the distance over the roar of the Falls. They were coming for her!
They sawed off the top of her barrel and cheered as she emerged, completely unscathed if it weren't for a small cut on her forehead which she didn't even notice. She entered the rescue boat and let her niece, nephew, and brother embrace her.
"What do you say about your experience?" The first reporter asked.
"No one ought to ever do that again," she replied.
Based on the true story of Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to go over the Niagra Falls in a barrel.
Sadly, she did not achieve the fame and fortune she desired. The little money she did receive with the publicity that came with her famous stunt was spent tracking down her barrel, the "Queen of the Mist", when her publicist, Frank Russel, ran off with it.
She died penniless at the age of 82.
Here you can see Annie Taylor standing with her barrel and Iagara, the cat who first went down the Falls in her barrel. The cat is sitting, perched on the top of the barrel. "Queen of the Mist" is written on the barrel.
"Yes, I will be the first person to go over Niagra Falls in a barrel," his sister, Annie Edson Taylor replied calmly. She got up, retrieved some rags off the stove and started wiping away the ale ejected by her brother.
"You are serious?" He said, after a moment.
"Yes."
"What has gotten into you? Have you become even more batty in your old age?"
"I am destitute, George, you know this. I have no living, I have no children to take care of me. I do not expect you to incur my expenses with six children of your own and no wife."
"You are 62 years old, Annie. No spruce chicken. Leave daredeviling to the young and foolhardy."
"You know I have tried everything. Teaching, opening my dance school only to find no pupils, being a governess, a maid, and a shop clerk. It is either doing this, or going to the poor house."
"You are well past the days when you jumped off the stables just to prove Edgar and Thomas that you are fearless. What did that teach you?"
"What I must never run away from a challenge," she replied.
"I was hoping that broken arms are not worth your pride and arrogance," he muttered.
"George, you must help me," she said in a serious tone. "The World Fair is taking place in Buffalo, New York this year. If I am successful, I will have the fame and fortune I have always dreamed of."
"What do I have to do with this?"
"You are a carpenter. I know you can help construct the barrel that will achieve the feat."
George sighed and looked in his sister's eyes. He wished the same enthusiasm she expressed for her ludicrous ideas would work to keep her employed instead of constantly chasing the prospect of infamy. Her sass and charisma worked to her detriment, her employers never wishing to deal with such a head-strong woman. Unfortunately her own business prospects never came to fruition. It was just like Annie to want to risk everything for a stunt like this.
"What do you have in mind?" He finally asked.
She smiled and retrieved a paper from her skirt pocket. "I was thinking of a design like this..."
"Papa, Iagara is going to be alright, isn't she?" Clara Edson asked her father as she held Iagara, yowling with fright in her carrier. She did obviously not know what was in store for her as she sat in the rowboat going down the Niagra River.
Her brother, John, working the oars smirked. The cat's a goner! he thought to himself, but said nothing, not wanting to scare his sister.
"Yes, darling. I constructed this barrel for your crazy aunt's shenanigans and I swear by its durability," George Edson replied. "Unfortunately, Mr. Russel wanted proof of its strength and that is why Iagara is here today." George did not trust Frank Russel, who Annie chose as her publicist. There was something very shifty about his smug expression and the way he promised Annie fortune and fame with his own profiteering ambitions.
George readied the barrel, which was floating by a rope attached to the rowboat. George Edston took pride in his creation, though he was reluctant to admit it in front of his sister. It was her idea to line the inside with a mattress to prevent injury, but it was his to construct the barrel with steel and oak wood for increased strength. He opened the lid. "In she goes..." George mentioned to Clara.
Clara carefully opened Iagara's carrier and quickly put her inside the barrel as Iagara hissed and struggled to escape. "Papa promises you'll be fine," Clara said soothingly as her cat's meows echoed inside the barrel. "But a little good luck won't hurt." Clara placed a heart-shaped pillow into the barrel with Iagara.
"I made this last week for both Iagara and Aunt Annie to use during their trips," she explained.
George screwed the lid back on and retrieved the bicycle pump. "This is to give Iagara some air so she doesn't suffocate," George said as he pumped up the barrel. He quickly put a cork into the hole.
"See ya, Iagara!" John yelled as the barrel was cut loose from the boat and floated down the river towards Horseshoe Falls.
"Hurry, John," George commanded, taking a place next to George by the oars and helping him paddle. "We can still park the boat in time to see Iagara off."
As soon as the boat hit shore, Clara and George ran off to follow Iagara's barrel as it dropped down the edge of the falls. Clara gasped. "Iagara!" she cried.
George patted his daughter's back. "Your aunt and Mr. Russel are at the bottom. They will retrieve Iagara and she will be the most famous cat in the world!" George soothed.
By the time George and Clara navigated their way to the bottom of the falls she found Annie and Frank holding Iagara , visibly shaken yet alive and well, in a carrier. Frank Russell had a long, red mark across his face and was clearly perturbed.
"Iagara!" Clara cried, running to her cat. She opened her carrier and embraced her as she meowed, relenting to the added fuss.
"You did it, George!" Annie exclaimed, embracing him. "Iagara is unharmed. Your barrel withstood the falls and I can go ahead with my own feat!"
"Your cat scratched me up," Frank complained. "But it did prove that the barrel is hardy. I will schedule Ms. Taylor's own trip to take place two days from now."
"I also found this," Annie said, handing Clara her pillow."
"I want you to have it, Aunt Annie," Clara replied, handing it back to her.
"Thank you, my dearest," she said, clutching it to her chest. "It will protect me as it protected your feline companion."
Annie Edson Taylor's own trip down the falls was not unlike her niece's cat's. It was October 24th, 1901. Her 63rd birthday. She crawled into the barrel, clutching Clara's lucky pillow as family friends screwed shut the lid and pumped the barrel with air from the same bicycle pump. They all patted the barrel as it was cut loose from the rowboat. However, this time Clara and George would be waiting at the bottom for her along with Mr. Russel and a small band of newspaper reporters.
"God be with you!" They yelled.
Annie had her own prayers inside her 4-foot-tall barrel. "Oh heavenly Father," she prayed, crossing her chest, "Please let me survive this ordeal so I may not die in the poorhouse," she murmured. She could hear the roaring waters going over the edge of the falls getting louder and louder until it was deafening. Her barrel began to rock harder and harder. Her heart raced as she realized she would be going over the falls any second now. She secured herself in the straps built into the barrel.
She closed her eyes as the barrel twisted and convulsed under the massive pressure of the falls. She had gone over! She tumbled inside the barrel as it refused to succumb to the raging Horseshoe Falls. She could hardly think while she bounced around in the barrel like children shaking captured stink bugs in a jar. With a final jolt, the barrel grew calmer. It still shook and the roaring of the falls was as loud as ever, but she was no longer tumbling frantically inside the barrel. The barrel was at the foot of the falls! She had survived!
The next twenty minutes were as torturous as the first twenty going downstream. It had taken that long for her barrel to be far enough away from falls to be safely rescued. Annie began to panic as she thought she would never be let out. She would run out of air and suffocate! Before she thought about screaming for help, she could hear her brother's voice in the distance over the roar of the Falls. They were coming for her!
They sawed off the top of her barrel and cheered as she emerged, completely unscathed if it weren't for a small cut on her forehead which she didn't even notice. She entered the rescue boat and let her niece, nephew, and brother embrace her.
"What do you say about your experience?" The first reporter asked.
"No one ought to ever do that again," she replied.
Based on the true story of Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to go over the Niagra Falls in a barrel.
Sadly, she did not achieve the fame and fortune she desired. The little money she did receive with the publicity that came with her famous stunt was spent tracking down her barrel, the "Queen of the Mist", when her publicist, Frank Russel, ran off with it.
She died penniless at the age of 82.
Here you can see Annie Taylor standing with her barrel and Iagara, the cat who first went down the Falls in her barrel. The cat is sitting, perched on the top of the barrel. "Queen of the Mist" is written on the barrel.
