Achieving Great Heights

Prompt: Write a story inspired by the phrase, “A person’s worth is no greater than one’s ambitions.” (M. Aurelius)

Achieving Great Heights

I loved climbing trees when I was the ripe old age of six.My mom was aghast by the heights I would ascend especially when the limbs seemed flimsy at best. Nonetheless, I continued my ascent into the skies through various trees. My dad, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to use my skills to his advantage. He said to my mom climbing was in my blood. Privately, he detested getting any higher than ground level. As fathers can be, he put my skill or rather my ambitious nature to work. I was his monkey minion to trim the trees in the yard, to clean out the gable gutters, and even to fix the shingles on the roof. I loved it. My mother was so perturbed by my dad she made him sleep on the couch whenever he enlisted me for his high-flying chore duty.

My mother would chastise me saying, “Michael, you have no ambition. Is that all you plan to do in your life is to climb up and hang all over things? You need to have a satisfying, safe, practical hobby! Kids your age do sensible things like building plastic models, collecting baseball cards, and a rock collection. You are not a primate at the zoo.”

I replied, “Mom, I’m only eight now. But you just gave me an idea for my next interest. I am setting my sights even higher.” The look on her face said she had no idea what I meant. Quietly in my mind, I admonished her by pointing out I am not a geologist and the only rocks I held were the ones I pelted at windows. My mother forgot that the glue I used in school ended up in the pit of my stomach. So I moved on with my ambitious plan.

The youth recreation center in our neighborhood offered a lot of activities like baseball, basketball, soccer, and swimming. I am not the athletic type, but the center also offered access to a rock-climbing wall. Yes, it was my time to shine! If I mentioned anything to my mom a futile argument occurred, and she would win. So “mums” the word, but my dad, on the other hand, owed me big time. With a stack of waivers in my hand to sign, he did not even flinch when I asked for his permission and signatures. I was in!Look out rock wall here I come. I had aspirations of ascending the behemoth wall.But because I had no documented record that I could climb, I was stuck at the beginners’ (or baby) wall. I thought to myself in no time I will be king of the youth center mega wall.

But before I would even scale the beginners’ cliff, I needed to gain some wisdom. My mom did not realize that her primate comment gave me an idea to visit those goofy hairballs at the zoo. I would carefully watch their climbing techniques. I set off one morning to watch the gorillas in their natural zoo habitat furnished with high simulated rock cliffs.

“Perfect,” I whispered once I entered the primate house. “I’ll sit here all day with my snacks and watch them tackle the cliffs in their zoo home.”

One of the humongous gorillas came over to the glass screen and sat right in front of me. I really could not see any of the other apes because if I moved, he moved along with me. Then I realized he was intrigued by what I was eating, so I stuffed my edibles (not cannabis) into my pockets. The gorilla dude would not move out of my way or climb the cliff wall. All he did was stare at me, scratch his belly and butt; and then purse his fat, ugly lips. I left with no information, but I think I made a friend of the hairy gorilla. I gave him a name using McGilla Gorilla, the silly cartoon gorilla I had watched on television.

I decided when I returned to the youth center I would tackle the wall without any extra instruction. I knew I would be safe because there was a safety instructor who kept a watchful eye on my movements and steady hands on the ropes. `He would watch but that would be it; he offered no advice. One time I found myself dangling in midair off the wall. The safety guy lowered me down shaking his head. His only advice was for me to lose my prideful attitude and take the day off from climbing.

When I got my wits together and ate some humble pie from what the instructor said, my proficiency skyrocketed at the beginners’ wall. In a matter of days, I was on the intermediate wall moving upward at a swift pace.

I could hardly contain my enthusiasm for learning the intricacies of the mega wall. I described the wall to my dad who was impressed by my ambitious goal. He warned me though that just to talk about it was not getting the job done. Over the months I painstakingly learned the “routes” and I was adept at scampering up the cliff at a torrid rate with little to no help from the belayer (rope guide).

Then it happened one day. I took on the mega wall for the record. I achieved a master rating for the fastest climb in the youth center. My dad was a witness to my speedy climb. I could only show my mom my little trophy for I suspected ‘she couldn’t handle the truth’ about my climbing.

My dad affirmed my accomplishment but his final words on the matter really hit me like a brick wall. He said, “Michael, this was quite a feat of strength, agility, and courage; but what’s next? What are your going to do now?”

I really had not thought what I would do next after scaling the mega wall. I returned to the zoo to see my friend McGilla. Surprisingly, he recognized me jumping up and down all over his play area. He raced up his cliff (a little late for my benefit) thumping his chest and bellowing like the hulky gorilla he was. He jumped off in one large motion like a huge airplane landing on the grassy area on his plump belly.

No, piloting a plane or skydiving was not an option for me. Scaling a summit seemed like an option, however. Outside my neighborhood was a national forest with variable terrain. There were small mounds and hills, but it was not at all like scaling a rock wall. At least the repeated treks lead to the increase of my physical endurance. As my stamina improved over my preteen years, I set my sights on bigger challenges. And they remained dreams and aspirations until I became sixteen.

Finally, I was old enough to drive a car which gave me the opportunity to travel to areas where I could improve my prowess at true rock climbing. But unbeknownst to me, my dad did not fully trust my driving skills unlike my climbing abilities. I sensed my driving trips would be shadowed by my old man. I found myself in a valley a hundred miles from my home. A small river flowed slowly through the valley. On either side of the valley were sheer cliffs which beckoned the experienced climber to tackle them. The scene was perfect except I was alone with no belayer to assist with my ropes.

I felt a surge of adrenaline pulse through my body. Despite the voice of reason screaming inside my head, not to proceed up the cliff, I grabbed my anchors, carabiners, rope, and helmet. I made my way to the base of the cliff wall. Nothing was going to deter me for what I hoped would be my initial and successful attempt. I was enthralled at living out a lifetime pursuit. Accomplishing this feat would open the doors to other dynamic and daring ventures adding to my resume’. My ambitious visions were coming into focus as I would one day scale El Capitan, or Verdon Gorge. Those visions, however, interrupted my immediate focus on the climb at hand. My haste distracted the placement of my pylons and anchors. I was about halfway up the rock interface when I missed hooking my carabiner to the anchor.

The next thing I remembered was looking up at my dad from the ground. Thankfully, my helmet took the brunt of the impact. The effects of my concussion were minimal. Once cleared by the doctor, my dad told me he followed me out to the valley. I was in such a hurry the only way he could keep up with me was with his inflatable raft he navigated down the river. I was relieved he did. I was ready for a tongue lashing, but my dad held any verbal spanking.

The only thing he said about the incident was: “Michael, I hope your ambitions will be self-sustaining in this life because you will run out of high cliffs to climb. And the stories you tell about your climbing may cause you to miss true personal fulfillment. Look for an ambition that not only fulfills you but honors people around you.” And in a moment of spiritual reflection he added, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” (1)

I thought long and hard about my father’s words. Not surprisingly, I did not act on them until I had to leave my parent’s roost. Now I was twenty-one in need to find an occupation that satisfied my desire to climb, provide a service to others, and help pay my bills. I returned to McGilla hoping he might provide some clues. Well, the best he could offer was to swing on playground monkey bars and dangle on a very high pole mounted with a loudspeaker.

No sooner had I left the ape house, McGilla’s antics triggered an electrical discharge into my gray mush. I would become a cell tower maintenance technician. I met most of the criteria for the job. $40 an hour was not so shabby, although the risks outweighed the wage in my opinion. I lasted six weeks on the job. It was nothing I did. My mother’s anxiety raged from day one of my employment. “It progressively got worse. I quit because she literally became immobilized in her fear and was one step from being hospitalized. The day I told her I left the job, she immediately recovered, and the weight of my career decision lessened upon her spirit.

For the next couple of weeks, I became paralyzed by my indecisiveness and eroding ambition. I had to seek out wise counsel. I returned to the zoo to seek primate wisdom from my friend, McGilla. Sadly, he barely took note of my presence. He was so occupied with the new tree house constructed in his habitat. My gorilla mentor was distracted by another member of the habitat. As I could best tell from a distance it was a she. McGilla, as only a gorilla could, embraced his mate as he climbed up the ladder to his tree home.

I yelped, “Oh, my gorilla friend you did it again! Your antics have left their mark again in the convolutions of my grey matter! A fireman on a ladder truck would be a noble profession. Time to reignite my ambitions to lofty heights as I climb the ladder of safety for those in desperate need. Climbing is my desire but saving others in their time of need is my passion.”

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (2)

Hopefully you will never need me, but if you see aerial ladder truck 51, I am riding high in the ready seat.

-END-

“Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (3)

“A person’s worth is no greater than one’s ambitions.” (M. Aurelius)

“The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:20, NKJV)

Philippians 2:3 (New International Version)

(Galatians 5:13, New International Version)

(Matthew 20:26-28, New King James Version)

Author: Pete Gautchier

Acknowledgement: Reedsy.com prompts

A story Jane Goodall might find amusing. In her memory 1936- Oct, 1, 2025.