What do you wanna be when you grow up?

by Will Lange
Action Jobs

You want an action job? Try flying the friendly skies with kids. Somehow, people who are three feet tall require seven times as much luggage as grown ups. My wife, well let's just say she travels well equipped. While I grumbled and stumbled through the local airport, my four year old girl gives me her million dollar smile and says, "We love you Big Fat Daddy, you can carry the whole world!" Hard to be grouchy with that kind of affection around.

But it was worth it. I insisted all the girls come with me to my 20th high school reunion and meet my old friends. I had only seen two or three of these folks since graduation day, so it was too scary to face alone. How could I even recognize these people after all this time? And if I did recognize them, what could we talk about? I couldn't stand the thought of rehashing my own travels and escapades -- having been there to see it all happen, it just wasn't that exciting to talk about anymore. The Prom? The school play? Senior skip day? Please! Reviewing dates with former girlfriends sounded kind of like mine removal duty in Bosnia. Even the "Big Game" was just a dim, but happy, memory. Hmm... nonetheless, I just had to go.

If stereotypical high school reunions exist, they were cast from this mold. The hard drinkers, the aloof beauties, the boisterous wallbangers, the geniuses, the jocks, the social butterflies, even the zoned out pharmaceutical specialists were all there. And each of us fell into his or her place like marbles on a Chinese checker board. It was surreal the way conversations began where they left off two decades ago. Even the nicknames came back without hesitation. (Mine will remain unspoken for another two decades, I much prefer Big Fat Daddy.) Although most of us were instantly recognizable, there were a few weird moments. "Whoa! You grew 6 inches after high school!" or "Weren't you blonde?" All very Twilight Zone stuff.

So what's this got to do with action jobs you ask? Everything. From our little booklet, I knew who'd been working the action jobs. They had fulfilled crazy passions by traveling the world or testing their characters in exciting, challenging careers. Their stories were fascinating: A woman working with torture victims, an outdoor adventure leader, a 3-time Olympian, a blue ribbon chef ala Aspen ski bum, an 11-year flight attendant, a yoga instructor who lived all over Asia, a hang gliding-ocean sailing-artisan, and so on. These experiences transformed and enhanced lives like nothing else.

But it wasn't necessarily action-oriented careers that had done so much, it was the people who followed their dreams that struck me as fascinating. One of my favorite people was destined to be the world's greatest mom; and she is five times over. Another friend loved physics since junior high and went all the way with that. These people refused to let their thirst go unquenched. And after all those years, their spirits seem to be more at ease. Ain't life grand?

Now what in the world will you say at your 20th reunion when someone says "Whatcha been up to?"

Will originally hails from the Northeast, New Hampshire mostly, but left home 20 years ago to see the world. Having seen most of it, he finally has a "normal job" and lives in the pineywoods of East Texas. During 10 years in the Coast Guard Will spent half his time in the North Atlantic and Caribbean doing law enforcement and spent the other half working in Europe and West Africa. His current job is in engineering as a "Blackbelt" - whatever that is. This allows him to explore new ways to thrash himself on roller blades, mountain bikes, and pushing his daughters in the jogger. He and his very patient wife, Elizabeth, have been married 13 years. However, if he doesn't get rid of some of those bicycles and windsurfers and...