Reader's Digest - Jump or Die [May issue]

This article is about a snowboarder, Tom Murphy who was trapped on the mountain. It was the last day of his vacation. He wanted to make the most of it, he decided to snowboard alone. The journey started off well. However, when he decided to ignore the warning notice, things start to get wrong. He felt that it would be more fun to 'off-piste' and the conditions were perfect. He realized that he was lost when he found himself in the middle of nowhere.

He tried to call for help through his walkie-talkie. However, there was no signal. He had to make a decision that concern his life and death. It was a difficult decision as both had little chance of surviving. He had to choose whether to stay there and wait for help or to jump and increase his chance of survival. He decided to take the risk. Before he jumped, he typed a farewell message to his loved ones. He let go of his hand and dropped into space, but he did not die. He tried to get help again, but to no avail. He gave up, thus, he typed another message. However, moments later, he decided that he should not give up so easily. He found that there was signal on the phone and called his friend, Elliot for help. Elliot did not believe him initially, it was his sob that convinced his friend.

Life is precious. After reading the article, I am glad that Tom decided not to give up hope in the end. However, I think that he is very reckless. He should think about the consequences of ignoring the warning post and taking the risk. Accidents could happen anywhere at anytime. We should be careful of what we do so as to prevent tragedies from occurring. Tom was lucky that he managed to survive this time. Perseverance is also an important factor that Tom have. He hang on to the last minute and thus managed to survive. There are situations that we would have to make certain important decisions. We should not give up hope in no matter what situations we are in.

I think that Tom Murphy is also very brave. Even though he is in a very dangerous situation, he did not stop fighting on. He hang on there, and told himself that he should not give up. Even when he felt lonely and helpless, he still held on, looking for ways to get help when he finally found signal on his phone. However, I think that to prevent such tragedies from happening, we should always remain in the safety zone. When there is warning notice posted, we should obey it. Or else, it would only result in unwanted circumstances. Hence, safety is always our top priority.

Ginette Kee [11]