I am afraid of heights. Just looking up at a skyscraper makes me feel woozy. Put me on a ladder, and I’m like a cat frozen in a tree. My wife once got me down by putting an open can of tuna on the ground. She also tried putting tuna next to the lawn mower to get me to cut the grass. That didn’t work, but the bacon taped to the handle did the trick.

Come to think of it, lengths and widths are a challenge for me, too. I get Jell-O legs contemplating the Great Wall of China. And the Grand Canyon? That’s like triple-dimensional jeopardy of height, length and width. You couldn’t get me to the edge of that thing if you threw a tuna fish wrapped in bacon at me.

That’s why I am so impressed with Queen Elizabeth II of England. Here she is, some 60-plus years into her monarchy and on the near side of 90 years old. Sure, she lives in a palace and has a staff of 250 to take care of her. And, yes, her hat closet is probably bigger than your house. But did you see what I saw at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics? She actually jumped out of a helicopter and parachuted down to the ground!