Base Instincts

BASE (“Building, Antenna, Span, Earth”) jumper Frank Gambalie III, 28, liked jumping off stationary objects and popping open his parachute to float to earth. But BASE jumping is illegal in California’s Yosemite National Park, so after jumping off El Capitan in the park, rangers moved in to arrest him after he landed. But rather than stop when ordered, Gambalie dropped his gear and dove into the Merced River. His body was found a month later. Shortly after Gambalie’s body was recovered, Siddiq Parekh, 31, hiking in Yosemite, stopped to soak his tired feet in the Merced River. He was carried away by the current and swept over Nevada Falls to his death. “The sign essentially says you may die if you swim here, and it says it in several different languages,” a Yosemite spokesman said. (AP, 2) ...Man must respect nature, since nature does not respect man.