Luna

My husband knows the editor of our daily paper and thoughtfully submitted my story to him. He said he is going to pitch it to the local section editor to publish in Thursday's paper and he wants more info for a byline. He said that while he's seen a lot of stories like mine, that I said it "especially well." I can't believe I might be published! And this story is not of the quality that I would consider submitting for publication, it was just something I wrote up for friends & family...here's to people who believe in you when you don't believe in yourself! http://www.cdwall.com/isabel/index.htm (Click on the link to get the pics with the story) Hurricane Isabel Sept. 19, 2003 By Heather S. Moon As I sit down to write this account (longhand, to be transcribed later), my husband and I are going into our 44th hour with no power. Some have over 47 hours behind them. A very few blessed ones never lost it, or already have it back. How thankful they must be. But thankful I am, as well. This is my story of Isabel, the worst storm that Virginia has seen in at least a generation. I'm not from Virginia. I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Texas. My, how this storm has humbled me! I've been through some very powerful storms during my time in Texas, but I personally have never been through this amount of destruction. I thought that we were prepared, but some things you just can't prepare for. We got our batteries and bottled water early, before the local panic set in. This area is not used to direct hits, because with the shape of the coastline, they just don't get them here. So while Floridians were bemoaning another storm headed right for them and Virginians were certain that it would, of course, turn before hitting them, there were still plenty of propane tanks for our grill and tape for our windows to be had. We filled our tubs with water, brought in everything from outside, and waited. Isabel made landfall southest of us around 9am on Thursday. Things in Williamsburg didn't start getting bad for a while. We held onto our power until 1:30pm, long enough to use the oven for lunch. Once the power was gone, I knew the adventure had really begun. With no electricity, there was little to do but watch the storm and wait. When we moved to Williamsburg 2 ½ years ago, we were enchanted by all of the trees, and we specifically bought a wooded lot. On Thursday, as the storm raged on in growing intensity, we were watching those trees with a nervous eye. Among the first of the damage that we witnessed was a branch off a tree breaking out the back window of a car across the street. We wondered why they hadn't thought to prepare, as we had, by moving the cars that wouldn't fit in the garage down to the grocery store parking lot that is not so immediately close to the trees as our driveways are. Poor souls they were, running out in the wind and rain, trying to get tape to stick to a wet car to hold the plastic in the hole that used to be their back window. Next was the 80+ foot tall pine tree that fell between some houses in the back. What a relief that it fell in so fortuitous a position. Around 4pm was when our disaster struck. We both heard the huge crash and wondered what had happened. My husband was out the back door to investigate the huge tree laying on our house. I glanced out the window to see where it was laying, then, certain that it was just laying in the attic, I entered our bedroom to see what the damage would be. Of course, knowing it was in the attic, I didn't expect to see pink insulation, like cotton candy, all over my bedroom, ceiling tiles hanging down, and water pouring onto my bed. I screamed for my husband. What happened next was a blur as adrenaline kicked in. I remember immediately getting the mattresses out of the room, cussing as I never have before as we did so. I remember going to the garage with a flashlight and the dog for a bucket, and leaving the dog in a chair in the dark garage, where he pitifully (and blessedly) stayed put for about 5 minutes. The next period of time was a blur of buckets, cutting up plastic trash bags, putting down moving blankets, anything to try to keep the carpet dry. We bailed out buckets until around 10pm, when it finally stopped raining. The tree had stopped in the attic, thankfully, with two outer first floor walls supporting it because it had come down on the back corner of the house. It was sometime after 10pm that we noticed another very large tree had fallen and was being held up by "our" tree. This didn't bode well for our tree, but there was nothing to be done. We finally fell asleep, only to be awakened at 1:30am to some creaking noises, which shortly culminated in a large branch breaking off of our tree to allow the other tree immediate access to the ground. Further catastrophe had been averted. I guess it's cool to hear about how our bedroom is destroyed, and you can look at the neat pictures I've included, but our damage pales in comparison to what others have endured, and that's not what I'm really writing about anyway. What I really wanted to write about is what came after. It started, actually, just minutes after the tree hit us. As I was in the front rooms of the house, moving something out of the bedroom, I noticed our next-door neighbor on our porch (doorbell won't work with no electricity, and adrenaline kept us from hearing the knocking). He and his wife had just wanted to make sure we were okay, and after showing him the damage, he expressed his greatest sympathies, and said if we needed anything tonight, to come on over. From there, it just got so much bigger. We knew those neighbors pretty well already. The rest of our neighbors, we really don't know. We are gone most weekends, and work late, so we just don't get out in time to see them. But all of a sudden, the next day (under indescribably blue skies, calm winds and clean, crisp air…like you only see after such a massive storm), all of these neighbors we'd never met were coming over and saying how sorry they were for us. They offered us everything from plywood to coffee (some had generators) to their spare room, and several have helped us nail a tarp over the gaping expanse that was our roof and clean up the yard from the rest of the mess (total of about 11 trees down with a 3 house distance). These wonderful people who we really don't even know us were offering us their hot dogs and ice, and just being so warm and wonderful! In our short outings to try to find ice (yes, there really were lines for ice that spanned 4+ hours) and tarps and other supplies, we also found other people to be most friendly and sympathetic, to us, as well as to everyone around them. It seems like Americans really do come together in a crisis, and it's such a warm feeling. What I have enjoyed most is sitting out in front of our house grilling our food, eating out there, soaking up the beautiful weather, while our neighbors all around us do the same, and the real feeling of community that it has brought. As I was in the middle of writing this, our power came back on. We got in just under 48 hours. Not bad at all, considering some people will be over a week without it, and how thankful I do feel for that (we had just come home with 4 hard won bags of ice only to find our power back, so we have given them to friends still without). We are coping, getting through the mess and coming out the other side. I know that things could have been so very much worse, and I feel so very blessed, not just because of the relatively minimal damage we endured, but for what I have gained from this storm: a real sense of what a neighbor is, and a real feeling of being part of something bigger. Insurance will eventually re-build the structure of our house that was damaged, but Isabel re-built my faith in community. Thanks, Isabel, I think it was worth it. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Well, I don't know about everyone else, but we were not required to do picture perfect flips. The whole reasoning behind doing the flips is to prove that you can regain stability from an unstable move. Thus, as long as we were mostly going over in approximately the correct attitude, and we regained stability quickly enough, we were passed. In fact, we had a student doing barrel rolls this weekend who was told that instead of a barrel roll, she actually performed some sort of very advanced freefly move, but she still passed. Is this different for others? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I still have a copy of it on record! It's essentially a single but used a full-sized record. Has all the words to it, too! And her name is actually Moon Unit Zappa! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Just wanted to point out that they probably have a standing waiver for experienced jumpers on the flotation device. We jump right next to a river, and we have the same. Students are not waiverable, however. So, more than likely they were not breaking any BSR or any other rule on this count. That said, I totally would have ridden the plane down as you did in that situation, and you should never doubt that you made the right decision! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Oh come on, you know you want to! Drive down tonight, spend the weekend, see old friends, meet new ones, party with the Queen...you'll never regret it! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I have to agree...but it's a good thing!

Thanks so much for the kind words...you are a true friend and all around great guy as well! For my list, some of the people I'd like to meet are WestCoastChica, JumperGirl, Betsy, Rhino, Sinker, Pammi, AirAnn, sducoach, Sangiro... A few that I left off only because I've already met them are Luv2Fall, MissKriss, F1Freak, JTVal, Wingnut and Skymama. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Good thread, thanks! I finally have my very own rig, which I jumped last weekend!

Carol Clay is The Queen of skydiving, with over 14,000 jumps under her belt. So, what to get the Queen for her birthday? A Casa and Roger Ponce, of course! Join her at West Point this weekend for her birthday boogie, with great skydives organized by Roger (and also organizing for low-timers), and as always, lots of beer. Casa loads start Friday, September 5 at noon and run all weekend. Let me know if you are going to be out, I'd love to meet you!

Carol Clay Birthday Bash September 5-7 She keeps going and going and going.........See if you can keep up with the Queen of Skydiving! Carol's boogie has been quite interesting in the past and this year should be no exception. Roger Ponce will be organizing interesting skydives of 20-30 way size. A Casa will be hauling skydivers to altitude for a weekend full of good skydives and good times! We will have organizers for new jumpers and jumping starts on Friday at noon. Plan a long weekend, after all, you need to recover from Labor Day!

Just confirmed that the D license will still be required for the wings and badges awards under the new system. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

The reference to only needing a D for Pro and Tandem ratings is based off of the new SIM coming out next month. Obviously it isn't out yet so we can't check it, but here is the quote from the article in Parachutist referring to this: This doesn't directly address the achievement awards, but leads you to believe that the D requirement for those has been changed as well. I will find out and let you know for sure. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

It's kind of funny that so many people are rushing to get their D, because with the new requirements in place, the only thing you'll need your D for is to be tandem rated or PRO rated (both of which currently require 500 jumps anyway). Everything else, from competitions to AFF instructor ratings, etc. will only require a C. I may personally never get my D. And I think you'll start seeing a lot more people with that mindset after Sep. 30. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Sorry! I need to clarify that the article I'm referring to is one that is detailing changes in the new SIM coming out in September of this year. I hope that makes things clearer! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

On a side note, in the newest Parachutist, it lists a few new functions for coaches. First, they will be able to do recurrency training and jumps for licensed jumpers. Also, if they have extensive freeflying experience, they can work on freeflying with non-licensed students. Finally, they have clarified that "a USPA instructional rating holder (USPA Coach or higher) must accompany the student on group freefall jumps but may choose additional jumpers to join them." So I guess they are working on expanding the role of the coach, but it will probably just take time. As for the cards, I'm not trying to debate the 2-sided-card vs. the 4-sided-card, but ISP vs. old AFF, which to my understanding was basically 7 levels and you are on your own. ISP takes you all the way to your license without leaving you hanging on your own, and also includes canopy control, as well as some other things that the old AFF didn't cover. From what I understand, many students in the old AFF program were really left feeling like they needed more training after they were signed off of AFF, and quite a few sought out coaching on their own anyway. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

First of all, as someone who recently completed the ISP through to license, I personally believe that there is nothing more important than safety. If the ISP includes more training that will ultimately result in a safer skydiver (and I believe that it does), who cares how much time or money it takes?? That said, I didn't have any choice in the matter, as my DZ utilizes only the ISP (as all should be by now), including the 4-page card. As to the coaches role in the training...well, to become a coach you have to teach part of the first jump course. So, I really don't see a problem with having a coach do ground school for each jump. The student would still need to do a quick brief with the instructor, but it would certainly save the instructor a lot of time! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Carol Clay Birthday Bash September 5-7 She keeps going and going and going.........See if you can keep up with the Queen of Skydiving! Carol's boogie has been quite interesting in the past and this year should be no exception. Roger Ponce will be organizing interesting skydives of 20-30 way size. A Casa will be hauling skydivers to altitude for a weekend full of good skydives and good times! We will have organizers for new jumpers and jumping starts on Friday at noon. Plan a long weekend, after all, you need to recover from Labor Day!

Okay, I know most of you don't have it yet, but when you get it, be sure to check out the Skydive Arizona ad on page 76 for a great picture of one of our very own!

Has anyone else had any weird problems when viewing the log entries? I won't get into details, as it's doing many strange things, but I'm losing the data in my entries, then it's re-appearing. I'm also having problems with deleting jumps (I'm letting people borrow it, so I need to do this). I just sent a feedback to Alti about these problems with more specifics. Just wondering if I'm the only one having this problem so far. I have version 1.5. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I have to say that I'm also very impressed with the new documentation. I read it today, and was able to use some of the new features that I learned about. My husband was doing night jumps tonight, so I told him he should use my Neptune! He decided (rightly it turns out) to use it as a backup, and using the cool "flip" feature, he was able to wear it on his right hand. So, here is some information based on his experience with it: First, when in aircraft mode, the backlight does not stay on. Well, he was wanting to check what altitude they were at, but he couldn't see it, and I guess he started hitting random buttons and ended up in menu mode, which he was still in when he exited. From menu mode, it will not go into freefall mode (good thing it was just a backup!), and it also did not log the jump. I convinced him to try it once more on his second jump, after explaining exactly which buttons he should push if he wants to see the altitude in the plane. That worked out better, and he said it was backlit great in freefall, but that the backlighting went off under canopy. So, it looks like there could be a few improvements for the backlighting, as well as possibly enabling it to go into freefall mode even from menu mode. I don't know how often this would be necessary, but theoretically a button could accidentally get pushed right before exit that could send it into menu mode. Overall I'm really liking it so far, and I sold one of our swoopers on it today when he borrowed it (also got to try out that "demo" mode I learned about in the new documentation with him). I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Kevin, that would be cool! Jim Crouch has done some and could jump with you if he isn't too busy with the school. Of course, he can use one of his own suits! We have 2 part-timers who have done some jumps, one has done 2-3 and one has done maybe 6-10. I haven't seen them in a while, but I would expect to see them for Carol's birthday. I think there may be a few others who have done 1 or 2 birdman jumps. But, if you have a suit that you can loan people so they don't have to rent, you might get some first-time takers. Maybe with Jim's 2 suits, you could do some flocks! As for distance from DC, we might be an extra 30 minutes further than Orange or Louisa, but not much more than that. I also agree that if you have multiple weekends to spend in the area, you should try the different DZ's out. But, if I were you, I'd just check out West Point that first weekend, since it is Carol's birthday boogie. Why pass up a Casa and a great party when you will be so close? I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Yeah, bring him to West Point for that weekend of the 5th-7th (Casa is coming out maybe mid-day or early afternoon on the 5th). He can go to Orange and Louisa on the other weekends, but this is one not to be missed. Jim also has a couple of Birdman suits to rent, so maybe you can get some people to do some birdman jumps with you, too! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

Oh, you just HAVE to come out to Skydive The Point in West Point, VA that weekend! It's Carol Clay's birthday boogie. You know that Carol is The Queen, right? Made her 14,000th skydive a couple months ago. We bring out a Casa just for her birthday, and I think they have Roger Ponce doing organizing if you are into RW. It's a great time! Depending on where you are at in the DC area, and on traffic, you are looking at maybe 1.5 - 2.5 hour drive. We have many regulars who come down from that way every weekend. PM me and I'll send you directions. I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

I just used mine for the first time today, and I have to totally agree with this! I was thinking the same thing. My other gripe is, and maybe I'm just missing something and someone can explain, but the speed that it is listing at 3K, which is during my deployment sequence, so I should be slowing down as my canopy is snivelling open, is actually one of the highest speeds listed. My husband took it up for a jump, too, and he had the same result. Can anyone give me a reasonable explanation why this would be the case? On my jump in particular, it listed me as in the saddle by about 2850 (I pulled a little higher, not quite trusting it's accuracy yet ), but my speed recorded at 3K was almost my max speed recorded! Aside from those issues, I love it so far! Granted, I've never had a Pro-Trak or anything like it, so it's all new and fun to me.

Go to this site and you will find tons of free skydiving footage. There are great videos available as well, but I'd start here if I were you! I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!