Safety Net

The commission in charge of the management and preservation of the Golden Gate bridge have voted to move forward on the installation of a safety net.

It seems that the number of jumpers, folks who hop the handrail to end it all, weigh too heavily on the administrators hearts - along with a hundred or so mental health professionals, social workers and grief stricken family members who showed up to sway the vote.


So, an architectural icon - a wonder of modern design - will get a safety net installed.
It will attach to the side of the bridge, about 20' below the road surface.
Projected costs are around $40-50 million dollars.



I, rather gloomily, predict that one person will die in the installation of the safety net. The net will be named after that brave construction worker, a memorial to their great effort to keep people from also meeting his/her terrifying fate.

I also forecast that there will be particularly insistent jumpers who will hop down to the safety net - and use it as their jumping off point to the next chapter.



Is a $50 million dollar net really much of an obstacle for a person ready to take action on ending their own life?
Should we only allow placebo sleeping pills be sold?
Perhaps we should only have near-beer and bumper cars?

It could be that I am somewhat callous.
I could be the type of person, who when ready to off myself, would find a safety net a great humorous slap in the face when reviewing the long list of great ways to end it all.