NoShitThereIWas

Good ole Mike Souza ... He saw me have my first pilot chute and tow after a freefly jump. I damn near smacked him when he tried to fly up and help me by pulling my reserve handle for me. He was there for me though. He was a pretty nice guy! I haven't jumped out at Doug's place. I have called those guys but they never called me back so I just figured they were doing their own thing. They are out at Rolla which isn't too far but I think they are mostly a small Cessna DZ. Nowadays, I am way too spoiled to jump out of a non-turbine aircraft. The only place I enjoy jumping out of Cessnas is for formation Cessna loads over Skydive Hawaii. Now that is a good time! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Dear Skymama: I am glad to hear your ass is feeling better. I am also glad it doesn't sound like anything too serious is going on. I hope you feel better! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

It is funny to read this post, especially now. I too worked at both DZs and there was always a bit of a rivalry. Of course, when I worked at Hollister, it was owned by the Nardis who now own SMB or last I heard. There was some real as the prop turns at both DZs (I am sure that goes for most DZs). Back in the day, Hollister was pretty happenin but experienced jumpers would get bumped off for tandems on occassion. If you were banned from one DZ, you most surely wound up at the other. There was a lot of back and forth for a lot of people. I moved to SMB mainly for the weather. I liked the A/C being a packer and close proximity to the ocean. I had mixed emotions about the Hollycoaster van ride, sometimes the van ride was fun, sometimes it was a necessary evil. I worked for Jessie for a few years before moving to Hawaii and I very much enjoyed working for Jess. I also had good times working for the Nardis. It is weird how small our world is because now Doug and Jackie are out here in Missouri... I thought I was the only SMB/Hollisterite capable of moving to Missouri. Anyhow, a great group of people, loads of fun although I am sure they are not the same people now, maybe some familiar faces. Sunset Bill, Laura Mullen, Mr. Freeze are just a few favorites still around. I am sure I'll make my way up there to revisit as I am moving back to Cali this year. I'll be mostly southern though so I'll most likely be at Perris or Elsinore. But to answer your question ... It is all As the prop turns if you ask me. Break the frickin cycle and break out the green bottles. And, just ask one another ... Can't we all just get a bong? Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

OK, so far with the research I have done ... I am thinking about Temecula. Murrieta isn't bad but it is further from school. Anyone who lives out that way, what do you think about Temecula? Are there good public or private schools for elementary out that way? We could be moving as soon as June of this year. My Mom says she is pleasantly surprised with Riverside area. I am not sure exactly which part but I think she is about 5 miles from the courthouse. So that is good news. She said everyone is very friendly, there are lots of palm trees and neat restaurants and shopping centers. I look forward to having an inground pool again someday If anyone knows any mortgage brokers or appraisers in the area, we are looking to make some contacts. Also, maybe looking at REOs but so far, the houses don't seem that bad for California. I wonder how long the prices will stay this way? Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Sounds GREAT!

Hell Yeah! I'm right on your way! Gotta wait until I graduate tho. That's not happenin' until May 17th . A houseboat? That sounds way cool! PS. Why moving to SD? Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Forgive me Micro ... I must be completely out of the California loop but can you translate? Thanks! (Not the I don't think so ... I got that part) Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Really? That sucks about Lake Elsinore ... I thought I read somewhere that they were completely changing the lake and building marinas and there was lots of fishing ... Maybe that was a different lake that I was reading about. I read something about some kind of renovation and also about charging $10.00 just to use the boat ramp which I thought was kind of steep... That is a shame. When I used to live in So. Cal. I grew up waterskiing on the upper Lake Castaic but I think that is kind of far from where I am talking about. I remember the lower lake being pretty polluted ... Thanks for the PMs and responses guys, please keep the information coming. Going back to Hawaii is still my first choice if I get into UH's graduate program ... but I am getting a lot of pull from family to move out to S.D., Temecula, Lake Elsinore area. I have been to Elsinore to skydive once or twice and have jumped a little in Perris but never got out much away from the DZs. There used to be a casino called The Bicycle Club (think it was in Elsinore) and I used to go there once in a while but other than that, I am not so familiar with any of those areas, especially recently. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Well, to be honest, for being a spoiled Hawaii/ Californianite, I have been pretty impressed with Missouri. I never would have thought in my wildest dreams when I was younger that I would move here ... but this state is actually a beautiful state and the people are wonderful and down to earth. The only thing I really hate about this state is that it is 10 degrees outside right now . Winters here are really cold at times ... but under the right circumstances it never bothered me getting through winter here. Of course, I was in a serious relationship with someone and had my home DZ friends to hang out with all the time and family nearby. That always made things bearable. But let me tell you, the seasons here are beautiful, there is not a lot of pollution or crime, not much traffic where I live, very affordable and like I said, the people are so nice! Missouri is a great state, better than I ever thought it would be!!! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

So I am finally graduating from college, it only took me until 34 to do it and I am brave enough to apply to grad school now ... Applying to a few schools but focusing on USD and UH at Manoa. I lived in So. Cal for 23 years and that was 11 years ago... I thought I would never go back but it looks like my family and support net are moving to the inland empire. I may end up making Perris and/or Elsinore my new home DZs. I have enjoyed Missouri, the state has been pretty good to me but my main job at my home DZ along with my home DZ are gone and my family (support net) has to move back to Cali. Along with that, there are no marine bio grad school programs offered here smack dab in the middle of the U.S. which is my next step, so other than a great group of friends whom I adore and my house, there is not much for me here after I graduate. I always hated the rat race, traffic, pollution and crime of So Cal. which made me swear I would never go back to live there, so it is completely ironic but I have to admit there are a lot of things I miss, especially the ocean. I know the 4 Way and 8 Way teams are hot out there and I am looking forward to getting back into skydiving after a bit of a break ... After doing an Airspeed Ultimate Skills Camp, my abilities and skills are in tune to do some competitive RW. It has been so long since I have been there I am sure things have changed a lot, I hope for the better. I was wondering if anyone had any info on USD, the elementary/ junior high/ high schools in the areas of Temecula, San Diego, Lake Elsinore, Riverside ... I am doing my own research too but it always helps to hear from the locals themselves. I don't worry much about crime where I live now and I would love to live in an area with clean air, less traffic and little to no crime. Also, does anyone know anything about the graduate marine bio program at University of San Diego? Thanks to all the Cali peeps. PS. Just to add, the part of So. Cal. I used to live in was the Valley/ L.A. area so I am really not familiar with the Inland Empire/ Lake ELsinore area, San Diego ... I have a boat and I like to skydive and water ski. I know where the good DZs are, are there any good lakes for water skiing? Anyone ski on Lake Elsinore? Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I got my rating from Glenn Bangs. I thought his course was fair and I myself was very impressed with his verbal resume. I felt like I was being taught by the best of the best. I learned a TON from Glenn and he was a no bullshit kind of guy. Someone offered him 10K once for a rating and he refused it. That is the kind of guy I want to get my rating from. He is going to give you the tools and if you do what he says, and you can fly, you will earn your rating. He set an example for me that I try to emulate to my students. He will challenge you fairly. At least that was my experience and I think everyone in my course felt the same way. He will teach you what you need to know to save your life while doing AFF and others. The rest of course is up to you as you do real life AFF. Glenn will tell you himself that no course director or evaluator can replicate a student but he sure picked some evaluators to do his course who sure did a pretty good job!!!! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Opening that incident report was one that I did not want to open. I read the sticky posted to collect fund's for Tonto's memorial and I was like WHAT???? Tonto's memorial???? WTF? I of course went to the incident reports and found one in South Africa. In disbelief, I opened it really not wanting to. So here I am posting in the Blue Skies In Memory of. In total shock. I never knew Tonto personally but I just adored the guy on Dz.com. We always seemed to be on the same page about things and Tonto always had something useful and helpful to offer. I very much enjoyed getting to know him on Dz.com. Terrible for his family and his girls to see. I am glad they will be going to counseling. Poor babies. You are all in my thoughts. Sending cyber hugs and strength to family and friends. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Jogged 1.5 miles and felt like eating a big plate of lasagna afterwards. (Starting to feel like and resemble Garfield the Cat). But I had a salad and some soup instead I need to be good on Halloween. I need to be good on Halloween. I need to be good on Halloween. My goal is to lose 15 pounds by April. That would put me at 127 which is a decent (not as skinny as I would like) weight. I have myself set up on a workout schedule to swim, run, jog and do aerobics at least 3 times a week. We'll see what happens Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Here I am checking in ... Glad to come to a supportive weight losing thread. I did nothing to get off my lazy butt yesterday ... But today, I am taking little one to swimming lessons and this is my first workout back at the drawing board. Dang I feel fat Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

Oh yeah, duh Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

ME

Good luck to all the Cali peeps! I grew up very close to Malibu and spent 23 years in So. Cal. I couldn't deal with the fires, earthquakes, riots and landslides so I moved. Every place has it's pros and cons but these fires are the worst I have seen yet in Cali. Hang in there!!! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

1. Jimmy Buffet Music 2. Coke (the drink ) 3. Limes 4. Fresh fruit daquiris 5. Good company 6. Porn 7. Friends 8. Pictionary 9. Naked Twister 10. Cranium 11. Balderdash 12. Boats 13. Sunsets 14. The Beach Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

There are already many good responses here so I will make mine short. Right now I have 2 rigs: One is my primary rig used mainly for RW and AFF. That rig has a Cypres in it and when I do RW and AFF, I like my Cypres turned ON thank you very much. I have read too many horror stories and have personally known people whose fates where determined by Cypres or other reliable AADs. My other rig will be used for swooping primarily. Getting out lower (3K to 5K) and generating higher speeds toward the ground, this rig will not have an AAD also due to reading incident reports of them firing low due to high rates of descent (while in a dive). The choice is personal just like that of an RSL. Some people like them some people don't. But the best thing to do is learn the pros and cons of each and adopt whatever fits your comfort level and/or your skydiving discipline. I never understood the whole I own a Cypres but I don't turn it on thing. Believe it or not, there are people who have died from going in with nothing out, Cypres equipped but not activated. It is something I don't understand but then again I have gotten on the plane accidentally forgetting to turn mine on a time or two and it is possible that it was just that person's unlucky day. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I cannot remember if it was a Vector or Eclipse tandem system. Our DZ had both at the time. I just remember the bridle was made out of teflon and I believe it tore. It was before I became a rigger that it happened so that is all I can recall knowing about the gear at the time. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I thought this post was very well written and very well stated. I could empathise and relate to much of the first part and agreed wholeheartedly with the last part. One thing I even thought of to myself while reading some of the posts was that everyone on that plane died doing something they loved. In some way or another, they loved what they were doing. Skydivers and pilots don't choose to fly because they have to or they hate it. Sometimes it gets so depressing and heartbreaking to think about how much life they had left to live. I remember feeling very angry at the fact that my friend Robert who was close to 22 was on our otter that crashed ... He was between a friend and a younger brother and I just remember not only feeling overwhelming sadness for him and the rest of our friends, but I also remember being very mad. Mad that he was so young and had so much life to live. But Skyflychris is so right when he said what a better way to end this life than in the pursuit of a passion? No one and I mean no one loved skydiving more than Robert. And what would Robert's life have been like without skydiving? A hell of a lot more boring I can tell you that. I've been on some of those juicy AFF jumps with him. But skydiving was part of what built Robert's character. It was like the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin who died pursuing his passion from the freak accident of a stingray puncturing his heart. Is it a loss? Well yeah it is but if he had never been the Crocodile Hunter than his life and those touched by him would be so completely different. The spirits of the ten people on that airplane will always live in our minds and will always represent enigmas to us. They died totally unexpectedly doing something they loved and their fate was out of their control for the most part. In other words, their fate was not the only thing determined by their passion, their life and who they were inside were also determined by their passion. There will be ranges of emotions and it will take time. It is true though that time does heal all wounds. It may not make them go away completely, some wounds are deeper than others and some have deeper scars, but we must not fail to see that death is a huge large part of life. Just like birth, it is the inevitible that we all must face. Our time is limited and it isn't always about how much time we have but how we used and spent it. I know it doesn't always help the living to ease their pain hearing and/or reading these things. I am not the most religious person in the world, that is for sure. But lately, I have been praying for friends and loved ones ... and I will be sure to include the families and friends of those lost in this terrible tragedy in my future prayers too. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

First off: I agree, Divorce SUCKS. I was involved in similar bullshit and worse. My ex was ruthless. Things similar to this situation would happen to me all the time. In a "true" judicial system or court of law, Party A should be liable for Party B's medical bills unless Party A can prove that Party B was notified and even so, the court order or decree I am assuming states that Party A is to keep insurance for Party B. The Court may take into account any mitigating circumstances of Party A, of there were any, but Party A should be liable to Party B for violating the Court order. My Mom is a family law attorney, I will ask her next time I talk to her. Unfortunately however, in my experience, what is theoretically justice and what is executed as justice often turn out to be quite different. In my miserable experience with divorce, the party who was more sly and had more power and money could outlast and destroy the other party and pretty much get what they wanted. My experience was also in the Hawaiian Family Court and I believe the family court and criminal court in that state are nothing like mainland courts and pretty much do whatever they feel without any reasoning of the law. Ultimately though, if you are a firm believer in Karma (and I am), what goes around does come around as long as you are strong in your own convictions. Things eventually worked out for me; not in the most ideal way ... but they nonetheless worked out. The sad thing is, when two people go into battle against each other, the only real winners are the attorneys. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

You all are killing me. I kind of agree ... Maybe you need a woman instead of a girl. And ... some of you are just genius funny!!! Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I already posted on a different thread in a different forum but I just wanted to respond to this post. A little over a year ago, we lost N203 Echo with 6 of our friends including our DZO. We had two survivors which were miracles in themselves but we are all still dealing with the loss here. Reading all these posts sort of brings me back in time to the memories of what we did after N203 Echo went down. We all expressed ourselves and honored our friends in different ways. Some of it was ceremonial and group oriented and some of it was personal and private. And again, I remember wanting to be with my friends, family and especially my skydiving family. I wanted to go home and see my little girl. It is a terrible time for all involved. Things like this really make you step back and realize what is important in life. Please reach out and seek the comfort you need within yourselves, each other and professionals too. Many of us sought outside help from professionals and don't ever think there is ever anything wrong with that; especially after a traumatic event such as this. Don't feel like anything that you feel is wrong. The human brain and emotions have ways of allowing us to cope and it can be different from person to person. And, if anyone ever wants to talk feel free to PM me anytime. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

I am not a tandem master but I was at a DZ when the TM's drogue bridle tore. The TM along with the student had an exit weight of approx. 430 pounds. The drogue failed and the TM deployed the reserve while the two were terminal for two heavy people (my guess was about 200 mph). Upon inflation, we noticed the reserve was spiraling and uncontrollable. Then it appeared that the main parachute actually started to deploy and the fabric tried to inflate and wrap around the student and instructor. The two landed in an open muddy field. I was one of the first on the scene and the student had two broken legs. The reserve had large holes and tears in it which in my opinion was a result of the impact from opening. And in my opinion, both the TM and student were very lucky. Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires." Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."