Jenny Nguyen’s Legal Blog

I had to wait a little while before I could let this one loose.  I wanted to make sure the guy was ok.  About a week ago, I saw something amazing.  As Tropical Storm Fay lashed the Florida coast, a kite-surfer was videotaped going on the ride of his life, literally.

Kevin Kearney decided that it would be a good idea to go kite-surfing during the storm.  He was caught on video by a local TV station being hurled into the air across the beach and into a building on the other side of the road.  While he looked like Superman flying across the beach, he was no Man of Steel.  He sustained multiple serious injuries including brain swelling (which is ironic, in and of itself) and broken bones.  He has no recollection of the injury.

He later went on television to talk about his ordeal.  When he was asked if he would give up kite-surfing during hurricanes or tropical storms, his answer was that he would go, over and over again.  The only thing he would do differently would be to let go of the rope sooner.  Wow!  Even the reporter interviewing him did not know how to respond.  I heard crickets chirping.  It sounds like he really learned his lesson.  While letting go of the rope would have probably helped his cause, I don’t think he sees the big picture.

Now, there are few things wrong with this scenario.  There are reasons why they evacuate areas during tropical storms and hurricanes.  They are dangerous.  The only people who are ever out in these things are surfers, kite-surfers and weather correspondents who drew the short straw.  From what I can tell, most of the weather people aren’t ever very happy to be there.  Don’t people understand that there are consequences for doing things like this?  If you go to the zoo and climb into the bear pit, chances are the bear is going to eat you.  If you stick a fork in an electric socket, you are likely going to end up like the lizard from my earlier blog.  If you go kite-surfing during a tropical storm, chances are you are going to be catapulted across the sky and smash into the side of a building.  It is called cause and effect. 

As the Spanish-born American philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”