When I was seven or eight years old, my family moved to Vancouver, Washington. One day, while walking home from school, I had a curious thought: I’d never seen a baby pigeon before. Looking up at the courthouse, I noticed a plethora of pigeons perched on the ledge of the dome. I also spotted a steel ladder that led up to the ridge. Curiosity getting the best of me, I decided to climb it.

As I ascended, I avoided looking down. Reaching the top, I faced the challenge of getting onto the narrow 6-inch ledge. After a few attempts, I managed it. However, I slipped and bumped against the dome, and suddenly, I was in a predicament. That’s when I heard a woman scream below. She yelled that there was a boy on the courthouse roof who was in danger of falling.

Within moments, police cars and fire trucks swarmed the area. I observed a fire engine extending its ladder towards me. Frozen with fear, I couldn’t move. Eventually, a courageous fireman started climbing the ladder towards me. Reaching my side, he reassured me that everything would be okay and that he would get me down safely. He grabbed hold of me, and we began descending the ladder. As we neared the ground, I managed to wriggle out of his grasp and, like a rabbit, sprinted away.

That evening, while watching the local news, my family and I were surprised to see the anchor laughing. The news broadcast showed footage of the daring rescue at the courthouse earlier that day. In the video, a blond-haired boy, perched on the narrow ledge with his arms outstretched against the dome, was slowly making his way up to the top. The brave fireman calmly approached the boy and carefully guided him down the ladder. Just as they were about to reach safety, the boy abruptly wriggled out of the fireman’s arms, leaped onto the firetruck, and then onto the ground, disappearing into the sunset.

The news anchor humorously commented that the boy was unlikely to be seen again. My family joined in the laughter, and my mother jokingly mentioned that the boy looked a lot like me. Little did they know that it was indeed me in that daring escapade. It took years before I revealed the truth, and I doubt my mother ever truly believed it was me in the first place.