What would Bear Grylls do?

Kids, don't try this at home.

James and I recently watched the television series Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls, a reality show in which ten teams of two people competed to "survive" the wilds on New Zealand. Bear Grylls, former member of the British Special Forces, served as their guide, mentor and judge as the teams competed in a series of strenuous outdoor challenges. Each week, one team would be sent home by Bear with the statement, "You wouldn't get out alive." While the show featured extreme physical tests, teams were judged just as much on their attitudes, problem solving skills and emotional fitness.

We became familiar with Bear several years ago when he appeared on a show called Man vs. Wild. From Wikipedia: "The series features Grylls dropped into inhospitable places, showing viewers how to survive...The show has featured stunts including Grylls climbing cliffs, parachuting from helicopters, balloons, and planes, paragliding, ice climbing, running through a forest fire, wading rapids, eating snakes, wrapping his urine-soaked t-shirt around his head to help stave off the desert heat,"among other even more disgusting things. The show seemed designed to show Bear shirtless (or more) as much as possible.

This morning I returned from an almost one-hour brisk walk around the village to find that while I had a key in my pocket, it was the key to Aidan's treehouse. And since there is no wormhole from the inside of his treehouse to the inside of our house, I was locked out. I was locked out with James at work almost an hour away.

Our neighbors are building an addition on their house and I've met the guys on the crew while checking out the progress (and joking with Bridget, one of the homeowners, about hiding bodies in the newly dug basement. Not that I would, of course, but it's always good to have contingencies, albeit temporary ones, for all of life's circumstances). I walked next door, explained my dilemma, and asked if any of them knew how to jimmy a lock. A man named Dave volunteered to try and while I should be somewhat relieved that he was unsuccessful, the fact remained that I was still locked out.

Then I remembered that the window in the upstairs bathroom was open a small amount. I asked Dave to bring over a ladder; he propped it up against the house and held it steady as I climbed to the window, pushed up the screen, opened the window and wriggled through. Poor man was just being helpful and he was treated to the view of my 50 year old tookus wiggling through a window - I hope he does not have nightmares.

While I was impressed with my ingenuity and survival skills, I will be going to the hardware store today to have a spare key made for us to hide somewhere outside. What would Bear do in the same situation? He might have rigged a zip line from the treehouse to our roof, or climbed onto the garage in order to jump over the open window, or parachuted from an airplane, but I think my solution worked just fine.