THE BEST
OF YOUR LIFE
SOAR POINTS
Hightower
performs a move
that acrobats
call a hip lock.
Learning to fly was a
breeze for this vet
Hang Time
Kathie Hightower admits to being
a “big chicken” as a kid. But then she
joined the Army out of college, attained the rank of lieutenant colonel,
and learned “the things that bring me
the biggest joy in life are the scariest.”
Which explains why the 57-year-old
Oregon freelance writer and motivational speaker is here at The Cathedral,
a Seattle gym specially outfitted for
aerial performers, preparing to soar
through the air suspended only by
brilliant, billowing silks.
Nine years ago Hightower watched
her first Cirque du Soleil performance and was mesmerized by
the acrobats’ aerial artistry. “It was
as close to flying as I’ve ever seen
anyone do,” she says. Determined
