pajarito

Your quote is the coolest I've seen in a while.

I'd rather be feared, in the biblical sense, because it holds more meaning than just love.

Troll Song I'm the bad old, wicked old Troll Tooraloora, Tooraladdie I'm the bad old, wicked old Troll And I eats goats for breakfast. Lyrics by Jonathan Selby

Our English definitions don't always fit. I found and read this article and found it interesting concerning the interpretation of the word "fear" in biblical reference. http://www.en-gedi.org/articles/director/articles_director_0204.html

You illustrate my point well.

I agree that living as best you can in accordance with what Jesus taught is probably the best way to show others. That is very important, in my opinion, but is what I would consider a passive approach. Jesus not only taught to use your life as an example to others, but to also be active in your approach as described in The Great Commission below. I completely agree that one can be too pushy and drive people away. I think you’ve got to use your judgment and deliver the message according to the individual. Some are more open to it than others. As you alluded to before, some may not be open to it at all and even hostile towards it. God has to open the eyes of a person like that before anything can be done on your part. Being “pushy” as was described before could possibly be nonproductive. The Great Commission Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mathew 28:16-20

I read the PM before I saw your post. This is a repeat. I don't know of anything in particular concerning older people skydiving and their health concerns. I imagine the same health considerations apply as for anyone else. A history with heart complications, lack of mobility due to broken bones, sinus troubles, vision imparements, asthma, etc would all be considerations. With older people in particular, their bones aren't quite as strong and are more prone to breakage due to brittleness. My Mother-in-law had actually had a previous minor heart attack. She decided to take the risk and I went along with it because she's such an outgoing person. She plays on a competitive tennis team and is always on the move. She just got back from a skiing trip with her daughter. I guess you just have to take each person's situation into consideration. Some you may feel can handle it safely and others may not. If it were even the slightest bit in question in my mind, I would not have gone through with it. You have to use your best judgement based on your experience. There's always a risk. You just have to accomodate for them and limit the risk as much as you can. Then again, I'm the type of person who likes to see people step out there and live life to the fullest no matter how old they are. Skydiving, to me, is doing just that. If your friend is in relatively good shape and is motivated to do it, I would support him just like you. Tell him, good luck!!!

When performing military free-fall jumps, we are required to pull by 4,000ft.

Join the Army and use your enlistment bonus. No...really....just kidding...

I rarely admit "firsts" to anyone in the skydiving community but this got my blood pumping last weekend. I've done a little sit flying in my years of skydiving and stood up feet down and held it for a while but mainly I fly my belly. I got with a friend at the DZ this weekend and we decided to do something new. I know this may sound incredibly simple to you guys who do this all the time and I appologize. We stood on the step of a C-182. We gripped the fingers on our left hands, swung our arms back and forth for the count, and stepped off. We rotated towards the relative wind, held bent elbows with palms up, and kept our legs spread apart somewhat. We went head down and maintained it for around 20 seconds. It went perfect the first time and on the first try. Completely awsome seeing the world from that angle. I couldn't believe the speed we picked up. That is smokin!!! It was a good time!

By the way, www.skydiveopelika.net will get you exact directions and details. Later.

Well, I enlisted under a delayed entry program and signed up for Army SF. So, it was legal...barely. The group that I was jumping with, which I later became a part of, was the 20th Special Forces Group Parachute Exhibition Team. I got to jump a LOT for free out of helicopters early on. It was great. Those days are over and it will never be as good as we had it back then. I really miss it. The Skycrane doesn't fly anymore and was decommissioned back in 1992. I made the last jump out of the last one back then too. Bar none, the best jump aircraft on the planet. We nicknamed it "The Alabama Fun Machine." Opelika is right beside Auburn on the other side. Tusekegee is about 15-20min down the road on West side of Auburn heading towards Montgomery. The Opelika Skydiving Association, for me at least, started at a little place in Beauregard (right below Opelika) called Buddy's Grass Strip. It moved due to liability reasons from the owner of the land. It is still, and intentionally so, a small DZ. Retired CSM Buddy Blue (my uncle and SkymonkeyOne, Chuck Blue's Dad) owns and operates 2 C-182's. You can jump bigger airplanes elsewhere, but the hometown atmosphere is at Buddy's DZ. It's a fun place to visit and I would recommend it to anyone.

You are getting very sleepy....

First jump: Skipped a day of high school (I was 18)and went to my Uncle (Buddy Blue's) DZ (Opelika Skydiving Association) operating out of Tuskegee, AL (where the Tuskegee Airmen were trained). My Dad was also there. My AFF Instructor, who was killed in 1999 in a motorcycle accident, Warren "Toad" Bullen, took me on my first jump out of a CH-54 Skycrane helicopter from 15,000ft. I said that I wasn't scared but, looking back on it, I was. I did everything wrong, got unstable, wrapped him up, and we plummetted down in ball. He had to pull my ripcord. The rest of the jump went well. Two weeks later, I had graduated high school and was on my way to Army basic training. For those of you who happened to have known Toad, he was a great friend of the family and is missed.

That's cool! I took my 72 year old Mother-in-law, Sister-in-law, and Brother-in-law on tandems over the Thanksgiving holidays. All went great and my Mother-in-law made the local paper, dz.com, and Senior's Circle Magazine. I love doing stuff like that.

In response to gjhdiver: I skydive because I love it. I do tandems because I like to see others, who might not skydive otherwise, enjoy it like I do. I definitely do not only do it because I’ll make $25-30. I’ve got a real job to make money. I take care of my passenger, not because “I took their money” but because I’ve got a human being attached to the front of me who’s put their trust in me that I’ll get them to the ground safely. Yes, they assume a risk to perform the activity. Yes, they sign a waiver that says the give up their rights and won’t sue (good luck on selling that to a jury). Yes, they might freak out and not do what you tell them to do. There might not be anything you can do about it. I personally, however, would risk a scratch or two to ensure their safety. Not for monetary reasons but for personal ones. Of course, I’m not going to put my life in danger. Not only because I like to live but because my living directly corresponds to them living at that point. When I used to do a lot of static-line instruction, I had a female student that didn’t get out far enough on the strut of a C-182. When she let go, her arm hit the step and it hurt her. She didn’t quit and went right back up. The next time, despite me telling her that she needed to get further out, she didn’t do what I told her. While controlling the static line all the way to her container with my right hand, I covered the step with my left arm just in case. She hit my arm instead of the step. I agree that there’s a limit to what you’re able to do in order to protect your passenger. I just think you should do everything in your power because they’re your responsibility when you take on the roll of tandem instructor. And yes, I sometimes do work for nothing. It’s not work to me. I guess I’m just in it for different reasons. In response to burbleflyer: I took my 72 year old Mother-in-law on a tandem over the Thanksgiving holidays. I evaluated her beforehand and decided that I could accommodate for anything she might not be able to do. We made the jump, it went perfect, and she loved it. As a tandem instructor, I would make the decision and not rely on the DZ to just send me people in order that I make $25-30.

Dogs and cats sleeping together. Total caos.

I believe it would...

Or they should at least be required to be registered in order to keep dangerous claw hammers out of the hands of potential criminals.

I think the "claw type" hammer should be banned.

Samuel Adams Becks Killians

I used to do demonstration jumps into the Vidalia Onion Festival/Airshow. We used to jump all day and, at the end, we would get 50lbs of onions to take home. How great is that!!! 'playing my banjo again' Ba na na...na na...na na...na na! Ok...I'm done.

That looks worse than I imagined. I'm glad you're doing well. Lots of coolness points with the rodeo picture!

Went to Auburn University for 2 years and that's where I met my wife. She got into Med School at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). That's Birmingham, Alabama for those of you that don't know. I transferred there and graduated with a B.S. in Management Information Systems. It's a good thing I got married and moved too. I would probably still be drunk, in Auburn, and without a degree if she hadn't straightened me out. I picked M.I.S. because, at that time, I knew I'd be able to get a good paying job when I finished.

Germany has good beer!