Yes. It is hard to imagine, I’m sure. But as a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter, you learn that sometimes the imagination is nothing compared to reality. You learn to turn off the logical side of your brain and tune into the part that wants to survive the situation so that your story will be told. You learn to assess each situation with lightening-quick speed and start forming a plan.

Are the knots a familiar tie to you?
How much give does the fiber in the rope have?
Are there times when your captor will leave you alone?
What sort of jewelry do you have on that may be used as a cutting device?
Which way do you run once you’ve escaped your bonds?
How high are the heels/ tight is the skirt you are wearing and will this fashion choice cause a hindrance to your plans?

This sort of instinct cannot be taught. You either got it or you don’t.

And kiddos, I got it. I’ve had it since that first time I was ever tied to a tree in a shadowy glen in the bend of Central Park.

Hostage situations are the worst as you are completely at the mercy of your captor. The only hope to hold onto is knowing that you serve as a bartering tool. You are the one thing that a desperate soul has to negotiate with; your life is what keeps his life going. However, this does not mean you will receive any sort of care or comfort. Your comfort is not a priority- the escape, the freedom, the demands- these are all that matter. Rope may be replaced with rusty wire. Knots will be tighter than usual. Blindfolds will squeeze so snuggly around the cranium that you’ll feel your pulse in your eyelids.

I won’t even go into what rights you are denied; in a hostage situation you are reduced from being a human being to being just a tool. And tools don’t have basic needs in a desperate man’s mind- tools do not urinate, do not get dehydrated, do not have hunger.

To date, I’ve been tied to some sort of sitting apparatus a total of sixty-four times.

The particulars vary with each situation- someone wanting to use you as an informant type will likely use a nylon based rope tied to a chair with arm rests that sits directly under a dim light source with a swinging capability that can be used for dramatic effect during interrogation. If you are merely being tied for detaining purposes, you’ll usually find yourself with a hemp-based rope, tied in a hog-knot fashion to insure that the legs are as immobile as possible to prevent any fleeing attempt. If you are being transported from hideout to hideout, you’ll most likely have only your arms tied at the wrist but will deal with some sort of blindfold and muzzling technique to prevent you from being able to A) know where you are being taken or B) offer directions when the numbskulls obviously get lost.