I Would Jump

I walk to work everyday across the Key Bridge into Georgetown. And for nearly two months, I’ve asked myself the same question: Would I jump off?

Not in a weird, suicidal way. But more in the I-think-I-could-survive-slash-thrill-seeking sort of way. I look over the green guard rails into the misty Potomac River and wonder. 

From the top, it doesn’t seem too far. At least a drop that high shouldn’t kill me or anything. But sometimes your vision can be misleading. From down on the river, the height to the top seems a lot more daunting. I went canoeing on the Potomac a few weeks ago and got a different perspective. From the water up, it definitely looks a lot higher. Which probably factored into why it has taken me so long to make a final decision.

 

Here are some of the stats I looked up for the bridge: It was built in 1923 and is now the oldest standing bridge into the district. Most importantly, it stands at just under 100 feet from the top. That sounds even worse now that I’m typing it myself. There is no research that has actually been done in this area, for obvious reasons. But I’m sure you could somehow calculate it with physics somehow. The highest recorded jump into water is something like 172 feet. The Golden Gate Bridge is 220 feet, and people almost always die from that fall.

 

Part of my decision may be skewed based on the weather patterns of DC. In the summer time, it is usually over 90-100 degrees every day, and I walk across this bridge two times. It can get pretty sweaty out there. So a flowing river beneath me seems very appealing on most days.

 

This was a difficult process despite the fact that I will never actually get the chance to do it. They would need to make a space between the rails to jump from, I would need to be in a swimming suit, and I need to make sure it is deep enough.

 

Regardles, after weighing my options and considering the pros and cons of this entirely hypothetical situation, I have decided that I would jump.

 

Wish me luck.

 

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