$5 gift card: #35 - Deanna13 (Deanna)
Auto-entry for November: #25 - stinkerbelle (Stacy)
This month’s book is not new, though it is new to me. I knew the story, but I didn’t know about this memoir until I started lesson planning for a book I was reading to my 4th and 5th graders. I fell down a rabbit hole of interviews and videos and happened upon this book, so I got it from my library and devoured it in two days. I hope you are as fascinated by the story as I am.
In the evening hours of August 6, 1974, high-wire walker Philippe Petit snuck into the South Tower of the World Trade Center with a friend while two accomplices infiltrated the North Tower. They hid until nightfall when all the guards had left, then proceeded to the roofs of their respective buildings. Working all night, they set up rigging for a cable to span the distance between the two towers, ready for Petit’s death-defying (and highly illegal) high-wire act. Soon after dawn on August 7, Petit took his first steps onto the wire. Police flooded the roofs of both towers demanding Petit come down, but he blatantly ignored them, instead doing eight promenades on the wire, even going so far as to kneel and lie down at one point. He was arrested as soon as he returned to the roof, and ultimately sentenced to perform in Central Park for the children of the city.
This is the story most of the world knows. However, in his memoir, Petit details how the idea to traverse the towers struck him, the months turned years of planning, and the hundreds of clandestine trips he took to the roofs of the towers, photographing the various angles, beams, and equipment already there so he would better know what he needed. He explains the many planned dates for “the coup” which fell through, how many of his accomplices came into his life by chance, and the one accomplice who got cold feet on the day of the performance, leaving his partner to do the bulk of the work by himself. Ultimately, Petit describes how his love for the Twin Towers and his reception from the city endeared him to it, so he became a New Yorker, never going back to live in France. As a result, and due to the reverence and relationship he had for the Towers, he felt the devastation all the more when 9/11 took place. At times funny, heartbreaking, and just plain unbelievable, To Reach the Clouds is a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of history’s most daring feats.
OPTION 1: TOUCHING THE SKY
Part of Petit’s fascination with high-wire walking is to string his wire in a beautiful place and become one with the sky. So, for Option 1, make a page about something that takes place in the sky. Sunsets, sunrises, fireworks, rainbows, fun cloud formations – the sky’s the limit (pun intended), as long as the page’s focus is the sky.
OPTION 2: THRILL-SEEKERS
Another reason Petit loves his high-wire act is the thrill of doing something slightly illegal and dangerous which requires putting his life on the line. So, for Option 2, make a page of the thrill-seekingest thing you, or someone you know, has done. Are you a fan of extreme sports or do you know someone who is? Has anyone in your life been zip-lining or rock climbing? Maybe your family went parasailing on your last cruise. Whatever the adventure, whoever the adventurer, document it!
My daughter, trying rock climbing for the first time.
The Fine Print:
1. HAVE FUN MAKING YOUR PROJECT!
2. Entries open to new projects - paper, digital, & card making.
3. May be combined with one other challenge that allows it.
4. Due October 31st, at 11:59 PM.
5. One lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a $5 ACOT gift card from me!
6. Up to 3 entries permitted per month.
7. If there are more than 15 unique entries (not including bonuses) during the month, a second name will be drawn and that person will get an automatic entry for the following month.
Participants:
1. trek
2. wissphotos
3. stinkerbelle
4. Deanna13
5. Deanna13
6. Art_Teacher
7. joannie
8. lilkoala3
9. karen c.
10. jcsmaestra
11. Karyn_Sue
12. The Scrap Attack
13. lilkoala3
14. hsblair
15. aheatfan
16. Jolly Holly Scraps (AUTOMATIC ENTRY FROM SEPTEMBER)
20. Cynthia Corbett
21. jordanbev5
22. Karyn_Sue
23. JA_Mehess
24. Donna_Coughlin
25. stinkerbelle
26. shoorn
27. Aztam
28. hsblair
29. Amy Jo
30. SandyK1967
31. traveler
32. karen c.
33. MTCanuk
34. Karyn_Sue
35. Deanna13
36. wendycrowe
37. shoorn
38. Amy Jo
39. jordanbev5
40. emmapaige
41. njr007
42. GayleChurches
43. LoreenC
