David A. McKay – Ropes & Gray LLP
"Probably the scariest (and some might say stupidest) thing that I have ever done was to try to clean my own gutters at home.  I fell off my very high roof and spent a week at the Brigham. My friends at work were somewhat grateful, however, since their families were so concerned about my fall that all of my friends have now been forbidden to do any potentially dangerous home tasks."

Ruth H. Silman – Nixon Peabody LLP
"The scariest thing I have ever encountered was zipping open my tent one evening in the back country of Yosemite and seeing a young, hungry grizzly bear approximately 30 feet away staring alternately at me and then at my food bag. She then proceeded to slice the rope from which my food was hanging and eat the contents (chocolate first, apples last). Needless to say, it was a long hike back to the car the next morning, but at least my pack was light and I was in one piece."

William McLeod – McLeod Law Offices
"I think the scariest thing I ever saw was President Bush signing into law the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.  It was not so much the act of signing the bill that horrified me; it was how happy he looked doing it."

Bette J. Roth – Mediator-Arbitrator, RothADR
"When I first started working as a lawyer, I lived on the beach in Los Angeles and sometimes surfed after work.  Once when I was alone and far from shore, I was on the board waiting for a wave when I caught sight of something very large and dark, gliding slowly below me in the water.  I could see marks and scars on its back.  I assumed it was a shark and I was terrified.  Knowing there was no time to wait for another wave to surf back, I paddled back to shore – one hand at a time – sensing the whole time that it was right behind me.  It was the longest 200 yards of my life."

Elizabeth E. Kim – McDermott Will & Emery LLP
"Having an unexpected encounter with a bear at a parking lot in the North Shore mountains (Vancouver, Canada), while walking back to my car from a hike.  The scary part: the bear was between my car and myself, and the parking lot was deserted with no other soul in sight. The bear fortunately did not move very much, but merely stared at me with a standoffish expression, while I managed to sneak into my car. It seemed startled when I turned the ignition key, so it was a huge relief when my car started immediately without any glitch."