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| Fifth Column | |
| Golden Gate Bridge fall was 2nd for | |
| 2003-03-21 | |
| Thanks to Chuck for the tip... A man who miraculously survived an accidental fall off the Golden Gate Bridge 15 years ago during a personal crusade took a second plunge off the span Wednesday to protest the war in Iraq. This time, he didn't make it. "Hey, y'all! Look what happens when I do this! Ow!" As bombs fell on Iraq and San Francisco experienced a wild day of protest, the strange odyssey of Paul Aladdin Alarab revived an age-old argument about putting suicide barriers on the famous bridge. Would that name be al-Arab? Or is it something his Mom and Dad hung on him when they were hippies? Bridge authorities and witnesses said the 44-year-old Kensington real estate agent climbed over the east rail Wednesday near the middle of the span, tied one end of a rope to the bridge and wrapped the other end around his arms, then demanded to talk to the media. "Hey! Lookit me! Lookit!" As officers tried to talk him back to safety, he read a statement denouncing the war, then let go of the rope and fell 235 feet to his death. "What'd he say?" "Hell, I couldn't hear him..." The spectacle was hauntingly similar to the day in 1988 when Alarab tried to lower himself into a garbage can hanging from a 60-foot rope under the bridge to protest the treatment of the elderly and handicapped. He apparently lost his grip and fell into the water, but somehow survived with three broken ribs and collapsed lungs. The first fall was passed off as an accident, but investigators believe the latest plunge was a suicide, pointing out that he purposely let go of the rope. Guess that means there's not going to be an encore performance, huh?
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| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #5 Mean Ole Mister Gravity sez, "Don't mess with me or Mother Earth will come up and smite thee." |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-21 17:28:16 |
| #4 If at first you don't succeed..... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-03-21 15:20:47 |
| #3 LOL!! Good one Dar Steckelberg!! |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2003-03-21 14:00:42 |
| #2 Poor guy must have been at the end of his rope... |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-21 13:30:00 |
| #1 ...East side of the Golden Gate? Every self respecting jumper goes off the west side, where your carcus gets washed out to the pacific. Only attention seeking losers with low self esteem go off the east side. |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-03-21 13:10:44 |