Man Vs. Wild

Having lived in downtown Philly, I was perfectly comfortable to walk around the streets with no problem, day or night.  When you expect something to happen, you are ready for it so it doesn't bother you as much.  Put me in the middle of the woods and it's a different story.  With visions of Blair Witch Project and Deliverance, my mind goes into a frenzy.  I would also consider myself 'outdoorsy', but I suppose, honestly, that if I get too far away from a Starbucks and an electrical outlet, I go into convulsions.

One of my favorite shows is Man Vs. Wild.  The host, Bear Grylls, puts himself (and his camera crew) into dangerous and crazy conditions around the world to show how to survive and find your way back to civilization and get rescued.  Parachuting out of a plane over the Andes, being dropped off in the Sahara Desert, chopping through the rain forest in the Congo... each show provides different challenges for the sense of survival.  Seeking shelter, finding food and water, avoiding predators... all part of the journey.  It's not abnormal that he would be facing drought situations having to drink his own pee, eating scorpions or fish eyes that burst in his mouth, beheading snakes, sleeping in a tree.... and that's just on the way to L.A.X.  With no inhibitions, some of the more bizarre things he has done includes crawling into the carcass of a camel to stay warm at night in the desert, giving himself a dirty rainwater enema on a homemade raft in the middle of the ocean to hydrate, and stipping naked to jump into a freezing cold lake to show how to get out and deal with hypothermia... all while on camera.

Forever dirty, wet and spewing his own brand of English humor and unique words, even while slurping down cow balls, he's adorable.  While there's speculation that sometimes he sleeps in fancy hotels on his expeditions, anybody that's willing to put themselves directly into horrible situations, eats the crap that he does and is willing to show his who-ha, deserves a Marriott mattress sometimes, since the information he gives probably saves a lot of lives.

It really makes you think if you'd be able to do this to survive...