September 15, 2003

• So I have once again survived my dive from the sky. And truth be told, it just keeps getting better and better (although sadly, not cheaper and cheaper) I even remebered a few pics for all y’all, but they will have to be posted tomorrow, as I am hungry as hell, not having eaten at all today….so here was my jump

  Met up with Lenny, Andy, and Louka at about 10:00 then jumped in the car and drove off to lompoc, listening to this years skydive mix tape, provided by Ken. SOme of the Songs on the CD?

  Learning to Fly-Tom Petty, Let the Bodies Hit the Floor-Drowning Pool, Alive-P.O.D. ,Learning to Fly-Pink Floyd, Baby Elephant Walk-Henry Mancini, among others…so ready and raring to leap out of a plane, we arrived at 12:30. ANdy and I have been before, last year around december, so we were the honored tandem II jumpers. We got the privilige of watching Lenny and Louka sign their lives away through a number of waivers absolving everyone of everything in case anything goes wrong. The people even provided an entertaining little video to watch so you didn’t pay close attention to the fact that if you are stabbed by the pilot with a butcher knife dipped in poison brewed by pygmies, it is considered your fault.

  After everyone was all paid up, we decided the jump order by the time honored tradition of flipping a coin. It was Lenny and I first, to be followed by Louka and Andy. I got my altimeter, harness, and regualr gear…no jumpsuit this time, cause the weather was so warm…yes even up in the air it was pleasant. Hopped into the plane…this time my tandem instructor was Clem…not to be confused with Last timez Crazy Mike. Clem explained how to check my altimeter and gear so I would know when to pull the ripcord in time and not become a human meat missle during the jump.

  SO the plane, a C-206, took off and off we went, Lenny the rookie, and me, Josh the pro, with a solid one jump under my belt…or two, if i survived the day. We climbed to 11,000 feet above the ground, according to my trusty altimeter, at which point I put on my goggles, and let myself be strapped to Clem, the jumpmaster. Clem and I scooted to the edge of the plane, where I had my feet dangling out the door, over the edge, 11,000 feet above the ground and flying into the wind.

  Several seconds later, Clem and I leaned forward, and we were out of the plane…my second skydive had gone past the point of no return. I tucked my chin and legs into a ball, and We did several flips and rolls in the air without even the stabilizing chute open. The feeling was incredible…there was no way of telling which way was up or down, and the sensation of floating was indescribable to anyone who hasn’t experienced it. We stayed this way for what was probably only 3-4 seconds, but felt like an eternity, and then Clem tapped me and had me arch my back and spread my arms and legs like a human letter U, at which point the stabilizing chute deployed. When I arched myself, our flipping came to an end as the U shape is designed for stability and after one or two more flips, i was automatically righted by Nature…or maybe air pressure, whatever.

  As Clem had taught me on the ground, I slowly moved my hands to feel for the ripcord, and then back into the arch position, where I checked my altimeter-9000 feet. It had been mere moments since leaving the plane. I repeated the process again, taking merely seconds to do so. 8000 feet, and falling fast. I did so one final time…7000 feet, I watched the altimeter until the needle fell to 6500 feet and then pulled the rip cord, releasing the main chute. At this point, I slowed down from approximately 200mph in freefall to about 10mph in 2.5 seconds. It was a rather abrupt sensation to say the least.

  Took a few moments to enjoy the unobstructed bird’s eye view I had of the city of Lompoc, and then Clem handed me the reins as it were, to continue our game of human darts. I began to learn how to steer the chute. Pulling down hard on the left, I made a left turn. Only moments behind me was Lenny and his jumpmaster Milt, and they sped up to quickly draw on level with us.

  Clem handed me the steering of the chute, and Lenny and I circled each other about 5,000 feet above the ground. Being the mature adults we were, we chose this beautiful opportunity of circling each other in the sky to flash gang signs and make faces at each other. Lenny’s jumpmaster shouted over to ask me how i did…I responded, fine i think check with clem. Clem shouted back I managed to pull the chute in time, therby saving his life…which while technically true, was nonetheless an ego-boosting exageration of the actual facts

  Then Lenny and Milt wheeled away toward the ground. And Clem and I resumed practicing my turning. I did a sharp left spiral 3 times around and the feeling was insane, like being inside of a blender of which i had control. I then did a sharp turn to the right immediately after, halting my leftward progress for a exilirating moment just before the switchover. Then I pulled on both the straps at the same time, causing the chute to flare, and creating a brief sensation of there being no chute at all, like i was just about to plummet the last 2000 feet straight down. It was awesome, so i pulled one more turn and did it again.

  Finally, clem once more took control of the chute and brought us in for a landing where we came down on a dry riverbed, hit the ground gracefully, and detached the chute and harness after landing. Once again, skydiving was an incredible experience. Sadly, this will probably be the last time I do it for a while, as at 140 bucks a pop, this is a little too expensive to do while applying to med schools. However, I can now say I have done it twice. I urge everyone to try something you haven’t done before, and do it three times. Once to get over the fear of doing it. Twice to learn how to do it, and the third time to find out if you like it or not. There will be a third time….one day. Tomorrow, I will put up some pics for all y’all of the trip

  Moral of the Story: You never know how exciting life truly is until you walk the edge of it.

  • 1:23 am
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