Posted on 02/18/2004 7:42:39 PM PST by Western Phil
The Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK Kirk Jones' main job with the Toby Tyler Circus is to tell people about his daring feat of going over Niagra Falls unprotected last October. His secondary job is to help feed, brush and care for some of the 100 exotic animals, including the young camels. By Scott Richardson srichardson@pantagaph.com Advertisement
NORMAL -- Kirk Jones doesn't recommend his cure for a mid-life crisis to anyone.
Jones, 41, jumped into the Niagara River and went over Niagara Falls on Oct. 20.
He's the only person to survive the plunge without safety gear.
"The hardest question to answer is, 'Why?'" said an upbeat Jones, who's appearing with the Toby Tyler Circus today at Redbird Arena at Illinois State University in Normal.
"To this day, I don't know if I can give you a satisfactory answer to that. ... I think there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity."
Jones worked at his parents' tool and die company for 20 years in Michigan before the jump. But, the economy drove his parents into early retirement.
Unmarried with no children, Jones had no prospects. "I was going through a mid-life crisis," he said. "I wondered what the future would bring. I realized I was at a crossroads of my life."
About two months before his life-changing experience, Jones visited the falls with his parents, who were planning to move to the West Coast.
The trip rekindled an awe he had for the natural wonder dating to his first visit at age 6, he said. He'd always been fascinated with tales of the "stunters" who made the 18-story plunge.
As he peered at the rushing water, he said, he thought: "I think I can beat these falls."
Jones used his last $300 to take a friend to Niagara Falls the weekend before he jumped. Jones told the friend what he planned to do.
"He said, 'What do you want to do? Kill yourself?' I said, 'I plan to survive it.' He said, 'Well, you won't.'"
Since 1901, 15 people have gone over the 160-foot-high Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side in barrels or other devices. Ten survived.
No one has survived a fall over the 167-foot-high American Falls. The Horseshoe and American falls are divided by an island.
Jones awoke on Oct. 20, a Monday. Money gone, he knew this was the day.
He and his friend walked to the river. They watched the rapids become more violent as they neared the Horseshoe Falls, where water rushes at 150,000 gallons per second. His thoughts came as fast.
"'Was I a failure? Was there a heaven? Was there a hell?' I know how a condemned man feels," he said.
He was ready to go at one point. But, he stood at a spot with a 15- to 18-foot drop to the river. He froze. Jones walked to another place where only a railing and short slope separated him from the water. Again, he couldn't do it.
"Common sense said not to," Jones said.
But, then an elderly woman, apparently a tourist, looked at him and said, "What are you going to do? Jump?" She laughed.
Jones answered, "You know, ma'am, I think I will."
Jones let go and glided toward the falls on his back.
The roar of the water eventually blocked out the screams of tourists watching helplessly as he went by.
Jones was jerked upright. Sunlight shone through the torrents of water that surrounded him as he fell. "It was beautiful. I wasn't so much frightened. I thought, 'So, this is what it's like to die.'"
Seconds later, he hit the water and was pushed 40 feet down by the force of the falls. He tried unsuccessfully to reach the surface for about 90 seconds.
As he was about to give up, the current thrust him upward. He grabbed shoreline rocks.
"I looked up at this gigantic jewel of nature and couldn't believe it. I screamed, 'I'm alive!'"
He'd broken two ribs, bruised two vertebrae and had a bump on his head.
Canada fined him $4,000 and banned him from the country for a year.
But for Jones, it was worth it. The fall to the bottom has lifted him up.
The Toby Tyler Circus hired him to make public appearances. He describes his adventure as he signs autographs and has his picture taken. He chips in to help with the animals.
His salary is in "the six figures," said circus promoter and lawyer Philip Dolci.
"I have a profound love of life now," Jones said. "I'm a contented man. I look forward to the future.
"Sometimes you can conquer all obstacles no matter how large. Sometimes the greatest obstacle is yourself."
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