Trapeze. Fly through the air. You know, the circus thing. Ever wanted to do it? Neither have I, but that might change. A few weeks ago, as they pulled up on their Harley's, I said hello to the owners of the Burke and Lorton, VA Great Harvest bakeries and we started talking about fun stuff we do outside of work.
A better way to put that is they started talking and I just kept picking my jaw up off of the floor. They are taking trapeze classes. As in, go up in the air 40 feet, stand on a small platform, grab a bar on two wires and jump. Then you have to rotate and get your legs on the bar so someone can grab you off and swing you to the other side. They actually do this for fun.
As we moved to something else, they asked me about the next time I would be in their area and made me promise to come in on a Sunday so I could go flying with them. I seriously wonder if I have the nerve or abs to do it, but I have to love a work environment where someone invites me to become a Flying Wallenda. I don't think I would have ever gotten that if I had stayed in public accounting or been on Wall Street. But, stories like this are every day gigs in Great Harvest.
We have an owner that leads gourmet food and wine tours in France. Three that hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon together each year. One that does 50k cross country skiing events. Some that surf. One that grows his own bees for the honey in his breads at the bakery. One that has survived a helicopter crash. We love how we can share stories like this and have them be real. And how we can encourage each other to try new things.
I can honestly say that I never expected to have the words "I am going to try flying on a trapeze" come out of my mouth. But they have. A work environment where we can trust each other enough to go try, and likely fall, on a trapeze is unusual. But, not at all uncommon for this Great Harvest tribe.
I can't quite get my head around the trapeze thing but it is actually starting to sound like fun. And I am being lead there by Jeanette and Jeffrey, a couple that rides bikes to work in pink Great Harvest shirts. That is cool...
What crazy things have you been talked into trying lately?
