That's me strapped into a metal basket. With a little (OK, a lot) of assistance from Fort Scott firefighters, I was able to make safely up a steep embankment in Gunn Park last week.

I gripped a small tree, trying to hold onto anything to keep my balance. I slowly took baby steps down the steep embankment. Mud clung to my shoes. I needed boots instead of tennis shoes. Didn't know I'd be doing something like this when I woke up that day.

I slid down the hill for most of the decent. But I didn't fall down, surprisingly. It's sort of like sliding across a slick floor in socks. If my feet slid too far apart, I would've had serious issues with my groin.

When I finally made it to the bottom, I laid down in a long, medal basket. There, several firefighters strapped me into the cage. I had my arms positioned like a mortician would put me into my casket, a position I'd rather hold-off in getting into again.

The basket was attached to ropes that led to the top of the hill, where several more firefighters pulled on the ropes attached to a pulley system.

Then about five firefighters dragged me up the hill.

You're probably wondering, if you're still reading this, what's going on. Well, I took photos last week of Fort Scott firefighters going through training exercises. The training covered finer details of rope rescue.

Firefighters volunteered me to be the person they "rescued" from the bottom of the hill, which was near the bank of the Marmaton River in Gunn Park.

After they dragged me up, a firefighter thought it would be funny to take pictures of me in the baskets. Thanks, Dale. They took several pics, seen here.

It was all in good fun, and I liked covering the training course.

The firefighters take training seriously. I was impressed with how focused they were toward the training.

Through their training and professionalism, the public's safety is in good hands.