flailchick

April 16, 1983 - 20 years! (wow, am I that old?) 4900 jumps. I'm currently on hiatis (grounded) while I prepare to have my 2nd baby in 2 years. So big party at Eloy in November - "Lori's finally done having babies" Party and we'll do a 20th anniversary then as well!

Thank you for sharing your memories. I spent my morning PT thinking through the years, from my first Freak Brothers at Freeport, to Quincy and the C-130, my AFF cert at Sandwich and catching up with Roger at Eloy and the PIA symposiums. Wow. He is such an amazing man, has touched so many lives. I'm so sad, yet I know my grief is for those of us that he left behind. We're the ones in pain. I'm sure he's in the good place, planning the next dive with Tom P., Bungee, Harry O. and the rest of the gang... Hurting- Lori Kraemer Clark FS2632

My heart is breaking. We'll miss you, Roger. My prayers are with Missy, Rook and the entire skydiving community. Lori Kraemer Clark FS2632

Thank you Chris. Like so many, my heart is breaking. I've known Roger since I did my AFF Instructor Cert in 87. I was always amazed when he remembered me after not bumping into him for a couple years. Roger is truly a special person and his loss is devastating to not just SDC but to the entire skydiving community. (Whether some realize it or not!) Roger, we love you and will miss you.

Lisa - it was that trip to Hawaii in early January, without the baby.... No more trips to hawaii... I'm too old! We're very happy and this baby was planned, as with last time, just didnt think it would happen on the first try! I'm going to call you at work in the next few weeks - need to get my new gear on order! Lori

Hi! My first child has 45 jumps inutero... However, this is after 18 years and 4500 jumps completely solo. I quit at 20 weeks, mostly because it was August in Arizona (canopy landings suck) and I went on light duty at work. Hard to justify not being able to do my firefighter/paramedic job but still skydive. I was very careful about the conditions that I would jump in and opted to borrow a larger canopy for a few jumps as well. I also did not make as many in a day... definately a listen to your body thing. I did not tell my mid-wife that I was skydiving. I did ask about doing "adventure sports" if I'd already been doing them for a while. She didnt recommend water skiing or horseback riding. (I guess skydiving never occurred to her). I'm now pregnant with my second child. First is 15mos old. I'm 15 weeks now. This one only has two jumps- due to various reasons, difficulty in finding a babysitter for the dropzone, schedule conflicts, and I was very fatigued and sick with morning sickness (all day) my first trimester. When I had the opportunity to jump, I didnt always feel well enough. Another factor is that I'm heavier than I want to be from my first pregnancy. So I'm already maxing out my 135. I'm cool with that in a non-pregnant state, but am now much more protective. The good news is that I will have new gear when this child is born and will be able to jump sooner! The main thing is, you must listen to your body. I don't know that I'd go against what my ob said (which is why I didnt tell her in the first place), but if she changes her mind, listen to what your body tells you. Gauge the conditions and don't jump in anything but the perfect conditions. I organized the Montana Women's state records when I was carrying Sierra. I didnt make too many a day, and I didnt jump in the winds that I otherwise would have. You have to dive within your comfort level. Good luck. Pm me if you have any questions - or just to let me know who it's going! Lori

Static Line, 20 Years old, 20 years ago. There was no tandem at that time and we only had one AFF instructor at our DZ (The other AFF instructor was the pilot....) Long, long ago... in a land far, far away....

8/16 Ugh!!!! I can't believe I can't tell the difference between a man and a woman! Please don't tell my husband!

2/25/1963 Yes that means I just turned the big 4-0! Ugh. Do I have to join POPS now? My birthday cake, thanks to my little sister, read "The only thing worse than being 40, is being 40 and pregnant." We're expecting our second child in October!

Hmm. Started skydiving single.... Married a skydiver, we both jumped alot in our 9 years. divorced from skydiver Remarried to non-jumper who is incredibly supportive and willing to watch the baby while I jump!

Hi David! I actually learned to skydive 20 years ago in Kansas. Closer to KC, though, at the old Greene County Sport Parachute Center in Wellsville Kansas! Jumped at Wamego some as well. I live an hour from Skydive Arizona these days. Welcome to dz.com and say hello to your fellow Kansas jumpers for me!

Hi Sweetie! You wanna come to my 20th skydiving Birthday party in April. I celebrate 20 on April 16th! Cool story. Right On!

I knew I'd catch heck for posting that - No, I'd definately point out the misrouted chest strap. I usually check everyone's chest strap on my airplane so I dont lose another friend to that particular issue. But you can point things out without making it a big deal. That's really all I'm saying. Know who you're talking to and address your comments appropriately. A novice you might educate on the preferred method for routing a cutaway housing - a gear manufacturer you may ask "why do you like to have your housing like that?" That gives them a chance to examine what you are referring to and explain to you, or correct it if it's wrong. I'd never let someone jump something potentially life threatening without addressing it in some manner. Lori

Oh, I know her, and if you were to point that out to her, she would have gone off............. Chris - the woman you're refering to manufactures equipment and probably made the very rig she's wearing. Her husband is a master rigger. I doubt if too many people would "correct" her on her equipment. I might have said, "so, do you prefer your cable like that?" Yes, safety is critical, but there is such a thing as the etiquete of respect in addressing perceived safety issues with someone who has been in the sport over 20years and has thousands of jumps. I hope I'm not opening a can of worms with this post... Lori

Many years ago, my X was the S&TA at a small DZ where the activities of one jumper were getting more and more scarey. my X had him complete the general information on a fatality report, stating that he would add the details later... The guy seemed to take it to heart and actually seemed to curb his unsafe activities for a while. About two years later he "went in" with a video recorder strapped to his belly, covering his reserve ripcord. He had been the canopy guy on a Mr. Bill, and cutaway his good main after the other guy jumped off the Mr. Bill. His normal rig had an outboard reserve ripcord for when he filmed, but he had just packed that rig specially for a base jump and so had his older equipment on. Anyway, after filming his Mr. Bill, cutting away to dive down and film the buddy in freefall, he was unable to gain access to his reserve ripcord. My X was not the S&TA at the DZ where the fatality happened, so his previously completed report was never actually used. Was the lesson with the fatality report affective? Maybe, for a while, but not ultimately. The guy still died from his careless activity skydiving. Would grounding him have made a difference? If one DZ grounds someone, should the neighboring skydiving centers do so as well? Hmmm.

Exactly my point!!!!

You might try adding the deep breath & telling yourself to relax to your visualization. Something like this: "Prop, Up, Down, Arch, Present Hips to wind, deep breath, relax, check left....." just try adding those steps to the visualization of your dive flow for your mental practice. You'll do fine. We've ALL felt the same way at one time or another - I got stuck on clear and pulls had to do 9 of them instead of the required three!

There was also an all female demo team in northern California for many years: the Chuting Stars. They did alot of CRW type stuff for airshows and other events.

I'll be out Saturday and maybe Sunday as well.

Just say "no". Tell your friends and family that you need a "mental health day" and get your bum to the dz!

Hmmmm 900th and 4000th Naked. The best part on the 4000th was getting out of the king air last with only the pilot & girl sitting in front of me knowing I had disrobed while on the way to altitude. I had wanted to do a Night Naked 999, but alas, made my 998th early in the day at a boogie. Waiting til night time for my next jump was out of the question! My husband went low on my 1000th jump. Then he arranged to have me pied like 7 times. Hmmm. Divorced him.

Totally agree with you, Mary. I'm reading all of these expert posts, kinda shy and in the background, ya know... I'd much rather be a "Newbie" than not be here at all!

Hello and welcome - very soon you will be as the rest of us - can't remember what we did on the weekends before skydiving!

Hello Brian! Nice to meet ya!

Don't forget sunny Arizona!!! (Okay it was a bit cloudy today - but not all day!) Welcome!