JSBIRD

If I recall correctly, M Anderson Jenkins was such a good freefall photographer, his nickname was "Godflicker". Did he die in a drowning incident? Seems we lose some really good ones that way. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

Oh yes, I have quite fond memories of crawling out of bed in the morning and having it look like a hog had been butchered there. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

It might be worth a call to your insurance agent. There exists a possibility because it wasn't an insurable highway vehicle, that it will be covered by your homeowners insurance. Worth a shot. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

$20 per "skydive"? HAHAHAHA I read that the charge to 'walk' onto the skywalk will be in the neighborhood of $27. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

This is a variation on the West African scheme that is used to harvest email addresses...and more if you fall into their trap. Their language and phraseology give them away every time. Be assured, they are in Africa in spite of having a UK email address. If you want to test them, have them send you an email, then track the IP address. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

Not me. In another year, it'll be to my waist. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

I ALWAYS wear a helmet for takeoff, unless acting as a cameraman, then I attach my helmet to my chest strap and let the seat belt do it's thing. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

You're not dealing with Cingular any more! I grew up when ATT was a great American company. However, sometime in the mid to late 1990s, ATTs service ethic and customer service went to shit x 10! I bit the bullet and contracted with ATT Wireless when they were the only cellular carrier in my rural area. After surviving their shitty customer service for 6 years, I was thrilled to learn that Cingular purchased ATT Wireless in 2005. I couldn't have asked for a better cell carrier...all it ever took was one call to CS and any issue I ever had was fixed on the spot. The other day I decided to call Cingular to adjust my text message plan. As soon as the CS rep gave me the new price list, I flipped! Almost double of the old price list. I asked if this was a new price since ATT took over..."Yes Sir" was her reply. So I'll tell you the same thing I told her...."RUN!!!!" Do whatever you have to to get away from the 'new' ATT wireless. I'm giving T Mobile a chance next. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

Same old shit...Crazy people having their lives taped...Only it's in Denver Colorado this season. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

I hope your water heater can keep up with the demand. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

1987 Chevrolet S10 Blazer. 306, 247 miles. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

I had 3 of them...jumps 87, 98 and 101. Paraplane Cloud. Low D rings with a chest mounted 24. UGH! 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

I’ve read some of these stories with keen interest, and now that I’ve finally decided to hang it up, figure it’s time to add a few of my own…or the ones I can remember, as I remember them. I just found out a few years back that my Mother drank and smoked while carrying me in the womb (early 1950’s), and that helps explain A WHOLE LOT about my personality and its many flaws. Other than the early to mid 1970s being a time when a teenager/young adult was almost certainly smoking weed and quite also possibly experimenting with some other mind altering substances, the above mentioned pre-birth input into the makeup of my being and psyche usually made me the craziest guy on the block. ANY block I happened to be on! It was early April of 1975 when one of my best buddies told me he met this guy who opened a DZ near our hometown of Mobile, Alabama, so after hearing all about it, I was all for giving it a try as soon as possible. As my buddy Glenn and his wife were going to make their first jumps on the same Saturday one my older sisters was getting married, I had to wait until the following weekend for my FJC. If I hadn’t been a part of the wedding party, I may have just blown her wedding off for a chance to make a jump sooner. As a slightly bent stoner type with a small amount of self awareness, I was trying to be good and told myself I wasn’t going to be high in any form or fashion to participate in the FJC and later in the day when I was to make my first static line jump. I felt skydiving was just way too dangerous to fuck around with like that. When we arrived early Saturday morning, I was excited to be at the DZ, and quickly knew I would fit in well with this crowd. The wacky ring leader there, a fellow named John Cutts, had most recently served on the Army parachute team in Germany, and upon getting out of the Army had convinced his family to financially back him in the DZ biz. I’m sure after he explained to them how much money was to be made in the growing skydiving industry, they were all for it. So he bought a Cessna 180, N3197D, as well as a bunch of military and sport gear that included lots of rags/belly warts, PCs, a Delta II and a Para Plane cloud, which I guess for the time wasn’t too shabby. A few special ‘demo’ rigs with more than one set of shot and a half’s were included as well. Anyway, the weekend DZ was located in a pasture out in the west end of the county which was normally occupied by cows during the week, and it was necessary to start each day by dragging a weighted piece of chain link fence behind a truck to break up the cow turds, otherwise a PLF would most likely put you in contact with a pie. (that is, IF you made the small DZ surrounded by trees) The grass ‘runway’ was about 1600 feet long, and had about a 20-30* bend in it around the mid-way point. I’d only been a in a small plane a few times before, and figured “this is how skydiving is done.” When it was time for the FJC to begin, I was introduced to my instructor, 16 year old Danny Durden, who went on in later years to serve as a Golden Knight, as well as an airline captain. He was pretty squared away compared to most of the people I knew and associated with, so his age didn’t really bother me. The other two guys in the ground school class were friends with the guy who had brought me out, and as I had met them before, it was cool having someone to joke with in an attempt to keep things light. As the course progressed, I was really enthused because I seemed to grasp all these new concepts quickly, and being in my early 20’s was physically up to any challenge. When Danny mentioned that we would be finished soon, with the first jump to come shortly after, I was really jacked up…and again proud of myself for being completely straight and sober through the entire process. As we were being sized for gear, someone pointed out that some dark clouds were building and we were likely in for a spring thunderstorm that are so common along the Gulf Coast that time of year. Having always been a leg (aka ground pounder) up to that point in my life and not paying too much attention to what was going on in the sky above, I figured once it started raining we were done for the day. As the rain continued to fall, the farmers/property owners invited everyone up to their house a few hundred yards away, where we enjoyed burgers, hot dogs and soft drinks. Eventually, and I guess I should have seen it coming, someone produced a joint. After another look at the angry, dark clouds producing sheets of rain, and seeing a few bolts of lightning, that was pretty much all it took for me to loosen up, give in, and begin seeking an altered state. One joint led to two, and then more, so it was little wonder I didn’t notice when the storm began to run out of steam and holes started to appear in the sky….A real Highway to Heaven kind of sky. Suddenly, John Cutts comes around the corner, and says…”OK, you three new guys, the sky is clearing, and you’re going up in 30 minutes.” OH SHIT! The hair stood up on the back of my neck. Is he kidding? OH FUCK! How in the hell will I remember everything I’m supposed to do? DAMN! I’m a dead man. So I quickly find Glenn and confided in him my concerns, fueled by my weed paranoia. “Don’t worry about it man, you’ll be OK. The static line will do the important part.” was his reply. OK, I figured, he should know, because he was WAY more experienced than me, he had 2 jumps! Within a few minutes, with a little more confirmation that it would really be all right, I decided to go for it. I mean why not, I was often walking around stoned anyway? Well, so much for my honorable plan. I feel I’m doing a pretty good job of maintaining my composure as I’m getting geared up, and notice that the further I get into it, the better I feel about it. By the time we load up the Cessna taildragger, take off, and are in the air for a few minutes and getting ready to let the first student out, I’m feeling 100%, and can’t believe I’m actually getting ready to make a jump after all the childhood dreams that growing up in a post WWII world, and watching episodes of Ripcord had sparked for me. As the smallest and lightest of the three first jump students, I was last to exit the Cessna. It was pretty weird to see those guys maneuver themselves outside the door, and suddenly they were gone! When Danny told me to move up and sit next to John who was flying the 180, I can now admit that there was a little minor brain lockage going on, but at least I managed to follow his commands enough to get out the door and poise on the small wooden step. I wasn’t even scared when I pushed off and fell through space for the first time, only to be returned to reality when the military surplus 28 foot 7TU canopy filled with air. As the plane flew away from me, it suddenly became very quiet. It seemed like I was very still, just hanging there, and I found myself overwhelmed by the ‘man small’ concept I would learn of in later years. At first, I didn’t look down, only way out to the horizon, and was very surprised at how far I could see from my lofty spot. Pulling a toggle on a 28 foot rag didn’t really turn you, it only changed the direction you were facing, so once I remembered they were there for me, I used them quite a bit to look out at the Gulf of Mexico, then turn again to look at the land, over towards Mississippi, and so on back and forth. I was truly in awe of the power I suddenly had in my hands…this was great! After what seemed like a very long time to me, but I’m sure was less than five minutes, I happened to notice that my view wasn’t as good as before, and that the trees were getting larger. OH SHIT! I’m about 300 feet off the ground! I was diggin’ on the sky view so much I forgot to look down at the ground for the DZ, and the orange arrow spray painted on a 10 foot piece of roofing tin, pointed by a DZ staff member, that was supposed to help me steer my canopy to a landing on the DZ. DUMBASS! That’ll teach you to skydive high! As I continued to look down, I didn’t see anything I recognized, so I turned the 28 foot canopy around 180 degrees and was pleasantly surprised to see that I was going to touch down about 20 feet from the target. (thinking, “this skydiving shit ain’t so hard” LOL) I also noticed the very cute farmer’s daughter I had met earlier was standing nearby calling up to me, encouraging me. Back then I only weighed about 140-145 pounds, so as I prepared to touch down, I slightly bent my knees, put my feet together, and promptly did a stand up landing. At first the look on everyone’s face was one of shock, so after standing there for several seconds, not knowing what to do next, I fell over and did the best simulated PLF I was able to muster. Then the laughter started, and Lindy, the fine lil’ farmers daughter, came and laid a big, wet one on me. Yeah, I was hooked and knew I’d be at the DZ quite a lot from then on. After the other usual first jump revelry and congratulations, it was getting dark and time for my ride to leave, so I made plans to come back the next day and do it all over again. Being a broke bastard back then, to supplement my buzz that night, I drank quite a bit of cheap wine… And that reminds me that I have a whole ‘nother story to tell about my second jump Sunday morning when I ‘accidentally’ jumped drunk. Well, so much for my sky sobriety. Later perhaps I’ll relay a few other scary jump stories which could include… Having my harness separate upon opening. VERY high tree landing. Stadium demo under a round with 15 jumps. Teaching the FJC with 30 jumps. High speed mid-air followed by being unconscious in freefall with no AAD. And that’s just the first 6 months of my skydiving career. I’ve got a whole ‘nother 30+ years worth of scary shit to relay. BASE 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

An old timer I know at a little grass strip DZ in Lower Alabama always called toilet paper 'non skid'. One day my curiousity got the better of me and I asked him why he called it that. He said...."Have you ever had your finger poke through the paper?" "Yes" I replied. He said..."Well, now you know why I call it non skid" 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

I believe in spell check. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

Goo Gone, a citrus solvent, is available at Ace Hardware and many other places. It will do the job. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

Google December 21, 2012. The end of the world as we know it, as well as a chance for a new beginning. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

Road kill rattlesnake. (I killed it) Tastes just like chicken! 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

Gay, Arab, midget, leather bikers. "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

IIRC, in 1962-63 a new VW Bug was just under a grand. That was an entirely different world. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

It sounds like he was asking if any sites on 'his turf' would have been a suitable (high enough to jump) place to search for the body. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

How about refer to a TWIN Otter, as just that, a Twin Otter. Otters only have one powerplant. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

BINGO! After getting the wrong food too many times, this is my policy. And if asked to pull forward while I double check my order, I kill the engine instead. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

As the warm, nurturing female breast of a mother is considered a source of comfort and giver of life, I can only suppose the opposite personality would have a cold mammary. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"

It's was -15* night before last on the high plains of Colorado. I have 'seen' temps of -27* here in the past. 359 "Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything"