Alva Review-Courier -

Most of the time, I consider myself a fairly strong, brave person.

At other times, not so much.

I learned I could do many otherwise terrifying things if it involved getting a good story – walking out on a bridge over a flooding river, crawling through a natural cave with only a small light on my hat knowing that snakes could be anywhere, climbing on the roof of a building or onto a tall ladder to get a good picture of the crowd below.

I’ve overcome many fears that way.

For years, driving over bridges made me physically queasy. Walking on one was out of the question.

Growing up in landlocked Ka...