Testing the Drop

A three-inch concrete step is effectively a sheer cliff when you measure roughly five inches tall. I stood at the edge of the porch, looking down at the gravel pathway. Leaping blindly seemed ill-advised. A small, dried pinecone lay nearby, bristling with stiff scales. I gripped two of its woody ridges, hauled it to the lip of the concrete, and tipped it over. It tumbled with a dry clatter and landed securely in the pebbles. The fall was entirely survivable. Using a mossy fissure in the masonry for handholds, I backed down step by step until my feet hit the crunchy gravel.