Sweet Lord in Heaven, what would my life be without Tracy Charles in it?
(Tracy up north at the cottage in Parry Sound, Ontario)
Certainly a lot more dull, I can tell you that right now!
I live vicariously through Tracy. For such a normal looking girl, Tracy is The Extreme.
(Tracy and her dear friend, Shakira, in Morrocco)
Remember the 1996 movie Twister where the Bill Paxton character brings his girlfriend (Jamie Gertz) along chasing tornadoes and they end up at the farmhouse for lunch and she asks, “Why do you call him The Extreme?” The Philip Seymour Hoffman character explains, “Because he… is The Extreme!”
(Running down a zip line in Montego Bay, Jamaica)
That’s basically how I explain why I think of Tracy as “The Extreme”… because she… is The Extreme!
(Tracy making friends and influencing people in Cuba)
Tracy travels. Often. To a LOT of places!
But The Extreme is not content simply to visit these far flung joints. She has to go all out!
(Hang gliding in the Andes Mountains)
I swear, I get scared and exhausted just seeing her photos and videos and reading about what she’s doing next! The girl is a high octane adreniline machine.
(Repelling down a canyon river in South America)
The girl has boundless energy and an unbridled enthusiasm for trying something new, for taking risks.
(Rent a car? Hell, no! Tracy zips around Baños, Ecuador, in a flippin’ go cart!)
Tracy is no mere adreneline junkie. She is a woman who has had her share of tragedy in her life and she has learned that you need to squeeze every drop of enjoyment from life. Never go to your grave thinking, “I wish I had done that!”
(Note the bad-ass barbed wire pattern on the helmet!)
So here’s to you, Tracy. You are an inspiration to me and all who know you.

Can’t wait until you get back from your present trip so we can talk more about it.

Until then, enjoy life to the fullest. If anyone has earned it, sweetie, it’s you!
(Tracy straddling the equator, being in two hemispheres at the same time!)
You’re the best. You are… The Extreme! [1]

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[1] At the time of this posting, Tracy is in the Amazon jungle, home to over 2.5 million insect species!
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