Tell My Mom How Great It Will Be

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By: sachilefever on October 12, 2005 - 4:08pm

My mom, for years, has consistently warned me about dangerous activities and unsafe places. For example, "Don't go bungee jumping or skydiving!" has been a familiar warning right before I tell her that bungee jumping in Nanaimo B.C. was awesome and my dad adds that he read about a cool place in New Zealand to luge. He smiles, "Don't worry, only 1 in 10 break a bone!" :)

 

She has recently changed her perspective and I have to say I was more than surprised last week when she mentioned, "I'm so glad you're going to all those countries and getting suggestions for where to go. I feel so good knowing that you and Lee are getting all the shots and taking the right precautions...And why wasn't Switzerland on your list? It's such a beautiful..." I realized she read Twinf and...how cool is that?!  Your stories and experiences and our dispatches calmed any anxiety she had and let her feel good about the upcoming year! Though I do think she still worries about us skydiving.

 


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I went sky diving in Ottawa
By: Boris Mann on October 13, 2005 - 10:14am
Back in the wild days of my youth, I went with a dozen other people on a two day long sky diving expedition.  You do almost a full day of on-the-ground training first. Once you actually get up in the air (5 people crammed into a 4 person aircraft with the back seat ripped out) is when the nervousness sets in. Being the lightest, I was the last out of the plane. I almost couldn't make myself take the leap, but finally did it.

There are a few minutes of confusion as the 'chute snaps open and you tumble every which way. Then, it's a bit like scuba diving: you're floating through the air, removed from any concerns on the ground far below. The air is swishing by, but it's not very loud, more like background white noise, a little creaking of the harness and so on.  The ground is moving along, and then your radio crackles to life and you do some test turns and other tests of the basics. All too soon, the ride is almost over and you're coming in to the ground a bit faster than you expected...and...touch down.

I haven't been sky diving since, but I did enjoy the experience.
I had a similar experience
By: leelefever on October 14, 2005 - 8:44am

I had a similar experience Boris when I was living in South Carolina. It was this arrangement where you're not attached to anyone, but they jump out with you to make sure everything gets pulled correctly.

They really drilled the sequence of events into you during the class and quite honestly, I was so concerned about following the sequence that I didn't get a chance to enjoy the free-fall. It was like cognitive dissonance (I think).  

Once the chute got pulled and I was floating around alone it was awesome, but I wish I could have expereinced the free fall a little more clearly.  Oh, and I most definately did not stick the landing.