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Ode to a Ladder

by - edited

We all fear something. For some it is snakes or spiders for me it is a gut wrenching fear....of heights. I have tried to overcome it but it is part of my DNA. Rather ironic when living on a farm requires me to climb a ladder every day to get to the hay loft of the barn. My mother told me when I was younger that it was falling out of the top bunk of the bunk beds that made me that way. I don't remember that ever happening but the fear has been with me as long as I can look back on.

I used to drive race cars and never once felt those pains of terror while behind the wheel, even at close to 200 mph. Ask my wife what it is like when I have to drive over a tall bridge though? My knuckles go white on the wheel. I can't help it. I scuba dive for pleasure and although I will admit my own swimming skills are less than Olympic the water has not bothered me. But heights are a different beast.

I look at window washers and linemen with absolutely no idea of how they can do what they do. The bravery that impresses me most about firefighters is not so much the flames they battle but how they can climb ladders so easily and without trepidation. If it were left up to me the tallest sky scrapers would only be two stories tall and I would have complained even then.

On our honeymoon my lovely wife thought cliff diving in Jamaica might be fun...... I almost called off the wedding. You will never hear of me skydiving. If I ever run away to join the circus it won't be to become the tightrope walker, and if you ever see me in the front row at a Eagles or Sixers’ game it is not out of ego...I don't like all the steps to the cheaper seats.

Ok, so I confessed. I am still an independent guy and I love putting up Christmas lights during the holidays. The gutters are not going to clean themselves and livestock tends to want to eat hay every day. In hindsight I should have built a barn with a basement instead of a hay loft. So what can you do?

Step one...buy a GOOD ladder. One engineered for safety first and foremost. Wide flared legs with rubber tips instead of plastic. Rubber grips, plastic slips. Get one that conforms to the ground it rests on instead of us trying to make do with a ladder that can't be configured to the landscape. Light weight but sturdy, welded rungs not pop riveted, those are the things I look for. These are features that make the Little Giant Ladder unique in the market place.

I tell people that God must like me, because he knows my fear of heights.....that's why he made me so short just to make me feel better. I won't take chances when it comes to my own safety and I hope you won't either. Take a look at the Little Giant ladder. It's what I use every day, I recommend it to anyone. If I have to use a ladder it is by my choice to use a Little Giant...