A 52-year-old, African American Woman Who BASE Jumps

Caroline Paul: "Shawn...basically told me to go jump off a bridge."

[Scroll down for the English]

KISWAHILI

“Shawn ni mtu ambaye, mara ya kwanza nilipokutana naye, kwa ujumla aliniambia niruke kutoka kwenye daraja. Kwa kawaida, ningesikia hilo liwe kama tusi. Ingawa, kuja kutoka kwa Shawn, ilikuwa pongezi za juu zaidi. Shawn alifurahi sana kwangu kujiruka kutoka kwenye daraja, au chochote kwa kweli, kwa sababu yeye, kuwa mrukaji wa BASE*, mara nyingi hujirusha kutoka mahali pa juu, huhesabu idadi inayohitajika ya sekunde wakati inapoanguka kwa njia ya kuelekea chini, hunafungua parachuti, kisha hunaelea chini.

“...yeye ni mwanamke Mwesui wa Marekani mwenye umri wa miaka hamsini na mbili anayefanya kuruka njia ya BASE. Yeye pia ni bibi. Mwalimu wa zamani wa shule ya watoto wadogo. Mwanamke mwenye jina la mvulana. Na mtu anayejielezea kuwa aliwahi kuogopa kila kitu porini. Migongano, matatizo, vizuizi, matata? Hakuna matata. Kwa hivyo, wakati Shawn aliniambia kwamba mini ninaweza kufanya kujirukaa kwa njia ya BASE [pia], nilimwamini.”

* “Mrukaji wa BASE [ni] mtu ambaye kwa kawaida huvaa parachuti, kisha hujitupu kutoka kwa majengo [buildings], antena [antenna], maboriti [spans], na ardhi [earth] (kwa hivyo, B-A-S-E ya warukaji wa BASE).”

- Caroline Paul ni mwandishi wa Amerika, wazima moto wa zamani wa mi wa San Francisco, mjasiria, na pacha anayefanana wa muigizaji wa kipindi cha televisheni cha Baywatch Alexandra Paul. Caroline anasisitiza kwamba wanawake wa miaka ya hamsini, sitini, sabini, na zaidi wanapaswa kuhimizwa kukumbatia nje kwa ajili ya ustawi wao wa kimwili na wa kihisia—hata kama hawakuwahi kuhimizwa kufanya hivyo hapo awali.

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION

“Shawn is someone who, the first time I met her, basically told me to go jump off a bridge. Normally, that might insult me. Coming from Shawn, though, this was the highest of compliments. Shawn was psyched for me to jump off a bridge, or anything, for that matter, because as a BASE jumper she regularly hurls herself off high places, counts the required number of seconds while free-falling, opens a parachute, then floats to the ground.

“...she is a fifty-two-year-old African American woman who BASE jumps. She’s also a grandmother. An ex–kindergarten teacher. A woman with a boy’s name. And someone who describes herself as having once been afraid of most everything in the wilderness. Contradictions, complications, obstacles, difficulties? Not a problem. Thus, when Shawn told me I could BASE jump, I believed her.”

* “[A] BASE jumper [is] someone who habitually dons a parachute, then hucks herself from buildings, antennae, spans, and earth (thus the B-A-S-E of BASE jumpers).” (p. 13)

- Caroline Paul is an American writer, former San Francisco firefighter, adventurer, and identical twin of Baywatch television series actor Alexandra Paul. Caroline insists that women in their fifties, sixties, seventies, and beyond should be encouraged to embrace the outdoors for their own physical and emotional well-being—even if they were never encouraged to do so before.

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KISWAHILI: Asante na tutaonana tena,

Mmerikani

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Thank you and may we see each other again,

Mmerikani

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Chanzo (source): Paul, Caroline. Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking—How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024, pages 13-17. Kindle Edition. See Caroline Paul’s TEDTalk here about raising brave girls and encouraging adventure.