Interested in how people handle it...

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

We have a very serious sport here; it gets dangerous and sometimes people die.

As much as I feel sympathy for those who die in skydiving accidents, I feel sympathy also for their friends, particularly for those who watch, helpless, as their friends die.

I read Lou Diamond's very mature and professional account of Chris Martin's fatal skydive and felt a wave of sympathy for Lou about having had to witness his friend's death. I certainly hope that he and the others who were on the scene can find peace. From what I have read now of Chris, his loss is monumental to skydiving, not just to his family and friends.

I am not used to being involved in activities at which people can easily die. I mean yes, I'm a pilot, and yes, I go surf kayaking, and I know that of course pilots crash and kayakers drown... but now I'm a skydiver, and I have seen just... so... many... people here state that they have watched friends die.

The unfortunate death of Chris Martin (whom I did not know but respect heartily just by virtue of his reputation and history) has got me thinking about this.

I have been fortunate enough in my year + of skydiving that I have not seen so much as a serious injury -- heck, I've barely even seen a handful of bad landings, and the longer I go, the more blessed I feel for it. (I assure you, I do not take for granted my good fortune in that area.) So I have a hard time even conceiving what it must be like to witness a fatality. I pray I never have to.

How have those of you who have suffered this kind of loss felt and dealt with the feelings?

I don't mean to stir up sadness, but I am trying to understand this. It's a reality I may someday (hopefully not) have to face.

Thanks,
-Jeffrey

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"