This past weekend I had the opportunity to hang out at a high school retreat for the church we go to. When you get away from home and get out into the wonders of nature with a bunch of teenagers you learn some things. For instance...babies hate boats.

Upon further review, babies probably hate life jackets more than they hate boats. Who can blame them. That's one wicked wedgie strap those infant life jackets require. But, you need to take certain measures when you expect a life jacket to stay on a 18 pound toddler.

And apparently, even life jackets can be tolerated when they are actually used as floatation devices instead of their typical use as a precautionary measure. My guess is that the weightlessness caused by floating in water eases the pressure on that blasted wedgie strap.

What never ceases to amaze me is that I find myself doing really dumb things when I am with teenagers. Take this weekend for example. Somehow, I found myself jumping off of a 40 foot cliff into a lake. That's me up on the left of the cliff. The look on my face is one of absolute wonder at the fact that I actually put myself in a situation where my only way to get to the boat was to fling myself from tremendous heights. Technically, I could have walked back down to the bottom of the cliff, but the ridicule I would have suffered would have been very unbearable. No way I go out like a chump. No matter the idiotic measures I would have to take to prove my manhood.

For the record, I'm a very good cliff jumper. Thanks for asking.

Fair Dinkum