Skydiving! June 11, 2010
In 1998, I made a list of things that I wanted to
do/accomplish in my lifetime. One of those things
was skydiving. I didn't pursue it, but it was always
in the back of my mind. On my 40th birthday, I
was rearing to go but it didn't work out. So, I
decided that as long as I was still 40 that it
counted. Friday, June 11th was to be the day. I
was a little concerned at first because I have
anxiety issues, but once I talked to an instructor I
felt much more at ease. I was afraid that falling
out of a plane would feel like going down that first
hill on a roller coaster, and I hate that feeling.
I was actually not nervous at all in the two weeks
or days leading up to the jump, nor was I nervous
on the way there. I was excited and had
butterflies. In the facility, guys were preparing
their parachutes and acting very nonchalantly. My
instructor had jumped over 3,000 times. Hard not
to feel confident in those circumstances.
I was very calm going up in the plane though it
seemed to take forever to reach the altitude of
12,000 feet. We only did a freefall for 40 seconds.
I liked that part the best. All I could say was
"Holy Shit!" Now I know why birds are so happy.
The ride down in the parachute was very peaceful.
We could see bodies of water and even Kentucky.
We had to land on our butts because the wind
wasn't strong enough. Fine by me, I just had to
make sure that I kept my legs straight and up so
they wouldn't get caught under the instructor's.
I am so glad that I did it. Who knows, maybe I
will go solo some day.
D bought me this t-shirt and necklace. The
necklace has a parachute pin on it. The parachute
pin is the thing that closes the parachute. When
you deploy, it moves the pin so the parachute can
come out.
Video
Pictures:
In 1998, I made a list of things that I wanted to
do/accomplish in my lifetime. One of those things
was skydiving. I didn't pursue it, but it was always
in the back of my mind. On my 40th birthday, I
was rearing to go but it didn't work out. So, I
decided that as long as I was still 40 that it
counted. Friday, June 11th was to be the day. I
was a little concerned at first because I have
anxiety issues, but once I talked to an instructor I
felt much more at ease. I was afraid that falling
out of a plane would feel like going down that first
hill on a roller coaster, and I hate that feeling.
I was actually not nervous at all in the two weeks
or days leading up to the jump, nor was I nervous
on the way there. I was excited and had
butterflies. In the facility, guys were preparing
their parachutes and acting very nonchalantly. My
instructor had jumped over 3,000 times. Hard not
to feel confident in those circumstances.
I was very calm going up in the plane though it
seemed to take forever to reach the altitude of
12,000 feet. We only did a freefall for 40 seconds.
I liked that part the best. All I could say was
"Holy Shit!" Now I know why birds are so happy.
The ride down in the parachute was very peaceful.
We could see bodies of water and even Kentucky.
We had to land on our butts because the wind
wasn't strong enough. Fine by me, I just had to
make sure that I kept my legs straight and up so
they wouldn't get caught under the instructor's.
I am so glad that I did it. Who knows, maybe I
will go solo some day.
D bought me this t-shirt and necklace. The
necklace has a parachute pin on it. The parachute
pin is the thing that closes the parachute. When
you deploy, it moves the pin so the parachute can
come out.
Video
Pictures:
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