European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 02, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine somebody s up on the Tower its Pinto by l Emmett Lewis or. Military policeman Sam Fischer near the Power line lower in Bamberg West Germany when he spent two hours talking a potential suicide into coming Down to safety. Sam s moment of truth nerd or hero by Don Tate stall writers am Fischer comas on out with in yep. I guess i was a  and worse. Back when to was growing up in school he was Good Wilh the books but said he d run away irom even the hint of actual physical confrontation not just non violent More like non courageous. Scared so he says he was afraid of some things but nothing More than height height really did it to him. Acrophobia it s called getting up some place and going to pieces like the time when he was 14, stuck Way up there on the Ferris wheel for 20 minutes screaming to get Down Panicky to get Down. So wildly desperate to get Down that he almost Well clambering Down the wheel s giant lighted arms. Acrophobia the stuff dreams Are made of. The falling kind the wheel spins. It s eight years later approaching 9 p m for spec. 4 Sam Fischer military policeman with the 501st my co something worse than a Ferris wheel spin is about to spin into his dreams. Gosh it s Boring he s thinking As his jeep makes the routine rounds of Warner Barracks in Bamberg. Germany. Wish something would happen. Wish something exciting would happen to the Young Man with acrophobia it s Asil somebody or some thing has tuned in on his head need you to proceed to the Tower behind the grandstand at pert Lenlon  snaps the voice Over the jeep radio somebody s up on the  Roger in  up on the lower. Ust the Job Lor an acrophobia. Pendleton is Hie football Field. The Tower is the 100 foot lower of Power beside it. Wilh High voltage Linos pulsing out on either Side. The jeep pulls up nearby and Fischer gets out. Staring upward. About three quarters of the Way up silhouetted against the sky like some strange dark Bird is this figure that is no1 a Bird but a Man perched on one of the arms of the Tower that holds the Power Linos. And he looks ready to make the big leap Fischer Calls up to the hunched figure once twice. But no answer. He gets on his Loudspeaker and Calls up again. Nothing but the cold wind he tells his partner pc. Steve Kenney. To Call Lor assistance like the Book says. But Sam Fischer in his gut. Feels it s jump Lime. Assistance is needed now. Or never. He grasps one of the frosty Angle Irons at the Bottom of the Tower. Starts pulling himself upward it s an awkward Slippery climb Lell Boot Over Here. Light Boot Here higher and higher. Never in Iho blackest Hole of his worst dreams could he have imagined himself doing this Sam Fischer former Skinny nerd in t afraid of a Little physical rumble anymore. Unless it s Lor the other Guy s safety. Since his school Days he s become a solid 6-tool-3 martial arts expert so Good that he s won tournaments. So Good he s beaten Oil an attack irom Lour real Lite. Straight-ra2or-Wieldmg thugs As he bicycled in Bamberg one night. But acrophobia in t subdued by lightning chops to a Lew necks. Del Ealing height is a nerve thing. Mind Over brute dark space. Over fear that wants to Gallop away with your mind like a spooked horse trampling your courage he keeps climbing slowly the Irons icy in his hands a third of the Way up he yells to the figure hunched in the shadows asks if it s of to keep coming the first moment of truth. Come  says Iho voice shaky in the wind. The sex nerd climbs eyes and thoughts focused above he s not even thinking about himself. Now he s up there. He s edging on out in a Silling position balancing on a two Inch wide strip of Metal moving closer and closer. But there s a vertical support Brace Between him and the Young Soldier on the  who looks like a scared kid. About 17 or 18 Sam gels him to talking. The kid is shaking pretty violently. He seems in some kind of personal Shell Shock his girl has dumped him he says. His mom and dad have split up. He does t like the army. Life is nothing and nobody gives a Damn the kid is spilling his guts. And Sam lets him. He s had no psychological training lot this. But he keeps trying to sidestep the sorry Side of me and focus on the Good. Kind of cold up  he says mind in i hang on to you it s the second moment of truth and when he hears an of Sam Fischer slips his arms around the steel Brace and on around the Young Soldier As Best he can he Levels this kid wants somebody to talk him into living but when he gets to going on about Aboul his parents and How his girl did him dirty the kid seems on the verge again hey there s More than one fish in the  says is t there s plenty of fish Oul there " Lite s Ain t Worth nothing and i Don t want to be in  says the kid come on. Give it another Chance. There s plenty of fish in the sea the third moment of truth passes and the wind hums around them cuts at them. The kid keeps shaking Fischer is shivering himself. It s freezing and he s wearing Only his bus no coat below maps and others have gathered hut its almost Loo dark to see them the whole time the kid is about a look irom touching one of the Power lines. Touch in. And neither of them will have to worry Aboul Tish in the sea. They la both be Fried in a smoking crackling. 100.000-Volt second. When the Soldier quieten and starts to Brood. Sam talks. Aboul everything anything he stays away from the heavy stuff tries to steer the kid s mind away from playing re the last joke on himself they can see a Castle glimmering Oil on a Hill High on a , not looking Down himself. Tells Iho Young Soldier. Don t look Down look up look Al the Castle in t Hal something9" he talks a Tot Aboul Iho Prelly lights of Bamberg but he s running Oul of Small talk h s been going on Over an hour. When he can t think of anything else Sam combo Back to the lights. How pretty arc Iho lights those Prelly. Pretty lights at one Point someone apparently a civilian watching irom a nearby Street yells out Lor him to go ahead jump but he does t it was t till he started Down. Alter two hours alter a couple of other senior Law enforcement officers had climbed up and helped guide the kid Down irom the Tower in a rope harness that it really hit Sam Fischer Only three Steps Down and he thought. Of lord1 he was holding on Light. Pm Gonna tall but he did t. He looked out at the lights the prolix lights and kept going  Lew years before. Sam Fischer had slopped running irom the Lough Guys because i got tired of running. I just was t Gonna run anymore and he had Tandrow finally he had Defeated acrophobia or had he on the ground in came Over me. How Many things could be gone wrong " for a moment he Felt like tie was about to pass out. Throw up and Cave in All at once. He was told he could Lake the rest of the night of. He did t want to. He finished the shift got Back Home after 3 . And did t Lell his Wile right away. Nor did he dream about the lower of Power. Not that night. But soon the dreams started for awhile in seemed Hal every Hall hour he would Wake up in a wild jerking sweat All the things thai had t gone wrong when it counted when he had been so Cool and sure up there in Iho dark Wilh the kid. Were going haywire in the dreams. The adventure on the lower happened in january the kid is Back in the states now and Sam Fischer has been nominated for the Soldier s medal the highest Honor Lor bravery in peacetime Sam s dreams have simmered Down Loust now and then. But Ever time he passes that lower he still glances up. Still gels the funny feeling inside the chill in his spine looks to see if god forbid somebody else is up  ii so. Would Sam Fischer make the big climb again the sex nerd does t swagger around telling How he kicked Sand in the face of acrophobia or How he d just scramble on up there again no sweat. Maybe he would go Back up. He says carefully. Given the right circumstances  All he Levels for sure is that he would t run Sarn does t run anymore. Monday May 2. 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13