I am standing at the base of Marina City’s east tower, looking up and wondering…hoping.

Wondering why anyone would want to walk a tightrope between two downtown skyscrapers and hoping his attempt is successful. Television lights illuminate the scene between the iconic cylinders and Leo Burnett Building with millions of watts toted on flatbed trucks, hoisted into place atop other nearby buildings, and pointed toward a single white painted line, the walkway for aerial artist Nik Wallenda, carrying on feats of fearlessness for a seventh generation. After his epic walks across Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon, I stopped considering the “why” or “how” and trusted his instincts. A spirit of adventure and daring resides within this young man and it doesn’t look like there is any turning him back. At least I’m hoping at this point there is no decision to turn back halfway across the wire. One step and the commitment is there.

To say that a crowd is gathering about the base of the towers and on the street is a gross understatement. This is the Show of the Year and the Loop area is hosting it in grand fashion. Before it’s over, 65,000 people will have assembled. Folks are peering from windows at all levels, streets, and of course, the twin high-rise balconies of Marina City. There are more cell phone cameras poised to the sky at this point in Chicago than anywhere else. iPads follow a close second. Images will be pixilated on all kind of devices and it’s a certain bet there are a few paper-infused relics along the way.

A fellow photographer greets me profusely, invites me to the marina area where a tailgate celebration is in progress. Sandwiches and a few brews are present, together with a friendly host of folks gathered to watch the proceedings. I am greeted by one and all. Chicago is a friendly city. Say hello and you get a response along with a smile. Not much need of a GPS in this environment. Everyone is anxious to tell you the way to here, there, and everywhere, and if you’re not certain what you’re looking for or where to get the best, you get recommendations. Today, the recommendation is to stay put and keep looking up.

(Above) Tens of thousands of people watch from Wacker Drive east of State Street. (Discovery video.)

There is a huge air of expectation here, on the street, on the balconies of Marina City, and on the faces of everyone within a few hundred feet.

A sandwich chain on the plaza level provides victuals and my wife and I have settled a few hunger pangs thereby, and we are visiting with nearby Chicagoans. Quiet conversations about work, home, family, and the wisdom of public transportation are the perused topics. For once I hear nothing about the Bears and Packers rivalry.

Conversation morphs into screams as thousands gaze upward to see a lone figure with a balancing pole step out onto a wire. Such racket has not been heard since the gladiator games of ages past. There’s not a downward glance. The crowd roars, cheers, claps, and virtually dances in the street as if the Cubs have won the World Series. The minutes tick by. Shutters snap, helicopters are chop-chopping overhead. Nik Wallenda is talking to television hosts from his vantage point as he inches across the wire, describing the beauty of the city. We get a downward view from a GoPro camera as he steadily moves toward the Burnett Building across Wacker Drive from Marina City. And at last the deed is accomplished and half the journey is complete.

A quick ride down the elevator and back to the towers, this time embarking from the west tower to scale 100 feet to the east. He’s added another thrill – he will be blindfolded. 543 feet separates Wallenda from the plaza. Each step is carefully choreographed.

(Above) “Nik’s Chiks.” Sue, Therese, and Claire, who have traveled from California to see the stunt, speak with Discovery’s Chris Jacobs about their aunt, who lived at Marina City until recently. “She will be there with us in spirit,” they tell Jacobs. “She would have loved this.”

The remainder of the walk is history and like the previous sojourn, captured live on television. It is estimated that six million people around the globe have watched, enraptured and chilled to the core with anticipation. All of them as overwhelmed as those who have made their way downtown to see it performed in person.

So what’s the point in all this derring-do? I’m not sure, but it’s happened and perhaps we’ve learned a life lesson or two. Wallenda wants us to be inspired, not so much to imitate his high wire performances but to reach out of ourselves to find what passions drive us and exploit them. Walking away from Marina City I am impressed that I’ve got a passion or two in life at which I want to excel. If it takes a trip to the Chicago Loop to have that worth restated once again, so be it. It’s time well spent. Thanks, Nik, for going out on a limb (or wire) for us!

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