Just when I think my husband can't get any more badass, he asks an audience member to tie him to a chair.

This is nothing new, of course, Jared has been having people tie him to chairs for years. In this particular instance, we were doing it at the Steampunk Spectacular Live event at Balticon. Susan Z., who runs Steampunk Spectacular, had asked for a contribution from us, and we had offered a truncated version of our Victorian Sideshow presentation, a presentation that is part history lecture, and part demonstration. Before the show, we decided we'd cut down on the demonstration in part, because Jared has a broken ankle, and prescription pain meds, while they work wonderfully, do not leave you as sharp as usual.

We agreed that the escape art, the most physically demanding of the stunts, should be left out. This still left us with juggling, pickled punks and contortion, surely enough to delight any audience.

However, when I raised up the rope, just to show people what we usually used, Jared selected a volunteer out of the audience (usually the first or nearest person to raise their hand) and they tied him up. I had to admit I was a little nervous. I believe in Jared's escape artist abilities, I've seen him escape from the ropes of bondage enthusiasts and boy scouts, but this time, he was injured, in a cast, and dosed up on pain meds. Usually, before a performance, we spend a couple days practicing - we invite friends and family to tie Jared up again and again, until his wrists are chaffed and we've run out of knots. This time, we hadn't practiced at all. I admit, I almost told him not to do it - a total no-no in front of an audience - but I held my tongue. And I'm glad I did.

I shouldn't have doubted - Jared was out of the ropes in seconds and the audience was laughing, delighted. Jared never ceases to amaze and inspire me.

Photo by Dan Tabor, Designer of Doom on Flickr.