Therer's a quote in the bible (and in the movie North dallas forty) that pretty much sums it up for me:

"When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things." I Cor. xiii. 11.

I'll raise you one Sammy G:And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.:D I do think that there is a big difference between doing things for sport and thrills and what you need to do to make a living. There also is a big difference between calculated risks and foolheartiness! My family is well protected in a financial sense for when I die. They are all mature adults and death is as much a part of life as being born. I would much prefer dying in an accident as opposed to rotting away in a hospital or similar setting.

I've got the same and I agree completely.

Hazardous? Or death by monitor radiation?

"leave prematurely" When is that, exactly?

sayeth the man with a turbo SC ;)

get busy living or get busy dying - I'm like moses - I prefer not to leave any of my kids or my wife prematurely - but I'm not sure I am going to change my life measurably either.

In Naval Aviation, we call what you described as a "Commanders Moon".

When you're a young Lieutenant and bullet proof, flying off the boat at night without any ambient (moon) light seems reasonable...as you age and make Commander the near misses accumulate, you begin to yearn for a full moon to guide your horizon.:)

My risk taking is much more calculated, but I still like to get my mug into the fray.

I love my family, but I'm certainly a risk taker. It could be that I lost my father at a very young age so I'm a little desensitized to loss.

My wife has never seemed too concerned with it, but I was a little surprised when I was going through my life insurance policies with her earlier this year. She didn’t relish the idea of losing me, but let's just say she was rather frisky that night ;) I hope that she was just happy to know that they’ll be taken care of if something happens.