steve1

Did you ever know Mark Wright? He was from Helena and jumped there occaisionally during the 70's. He's also a smoke jumper. Mark mostly jumped in Missoula.

Can I have (at least) a roll of duct tape and heavy stick? Give me your address and I'll mail them to you....I like to help...

. With age however, I have slowed down. I actually went over 200 pounds about 3 years ago. Know what I did? Started eating less. The gall of me to take charge in plain sight of a world of victims heh? Had my annual physical a couple weeks ago. My bad cholesterol has crept out of the ideal range for the first time ever. Guess what I'm going to do? Hint: It starts with "Make some" and ends with "dietary changes." The victim mentality that equates accomplishing something that is not easy (or is not truly desired) with the words "can not" instead of "will not" has pretty much become the norm. The percentage of people who truly can not lose weight is very very small. " It's good you were able to lose weight. There are plenty of lazy Americans that need to do the same thing. But the bottom line is that everyone is not just like you. You mentioned the victim mentality where people sometimes have this and thus refuse to do anything to help themselves. Yes, there are some people in that boat too. They need to change their attitude and do something about their problem. I guess where I disagree with you, is that I know there truly are victims in the world who struggle each day with tremendous courage, and they still can not accomplish what you may take for granted. I know it is the American way to think that people should be able to pull themselves up by their boot straps. But what if you don't have any boot straps. What do you do then. After all John Wayne didn't spend any time complaining. He just went out and did it.....right! But life isn't always that simple. Eating disorders are common in Mental Health work. I know there are victims in the world. I listen to horror stories every day. Some become anorexic, some are bulimic. Ohers just eat too much. I'm not going to condemn any of them, because I haven't been in their shoes. And I'll tell you, none of this is simple. For example it is probably easy to fix something if you have tools. Try doing the same thing without any. It's tough then. Some people need to be given (or taught how) to handle the difficulties in their life.... Over eating is something some people need help with. For some weight loss is an impossible task. Lumping all fat people into one big group and then calling them all lazy bastards isn't going to help....

. I've seen a lot of prejudice in the DZ.com forums toward thin people. A lot more than the prejudice to fat people. And it's all PC, and it's very, very cruel. Show a pic of a model? Watch all the ugly comments and slurs to anorexia, etc. Even when it's an atheletic model. I think it's just a bunch of desparate lonely men kissing up to fatties. yeah, that's it, going with the odds. I'm just not really impressed with the negative writing to both groups. But why do we feel we have to slam the thin or fit? Is it some form of reparation mentality? I don't get that. Though I'm biased to, I'm a bit tired of excuses from the majority of the overweight. When everybody makes excuses, it really is hard to accept the legitimate excuses of the segment that really can't help it - without a bit dose of skepticism. At the risk of pissing everyone off, I thought I'd jump into this with both feet. I just haven't seen much prejudice at all toward fit people. I have seen some overweight people who are totally unfit, sometimes putting down someone who is in good shape, to make themselves feel better. People do that all the time. Slamming someone make us feel better about our own weaknesses.. Aren't a lot of models unhealthy though. Being anorexic is not being fit. It's something that can kill you. Being skinny in the world of skydiving was once considered a plus. You could fly late on the big loads. You didn't have to worry about going low. About the only one criticizing you were fat people who were falling base. I guess all my rambling talk is coming back to the idea that most people don't like fat people much. I think it is very evident in many of these posts. After all they are different and than us. They must all be lazy, worthless, no good, etc. Talking about it makes us all feel better. I was skinny all my life, It was easy. I was born with few fat cells. I was raised in a family that ate fairly normal. A work ethic was encouraged. I was brought up to be active. I was once a competitive body builder. I used to look down my nose at anyone who wasn't fit like I was. After all I didn't understand fat people. They weren't motivated like me. Maybe now that I'm a fat old man I can see things a little more clearly. Predjudice is an interesting subject. I'd like to learn more about it. I once watched a fat person walk into the room and everyones smile turned to a frown. It was obvious what they were all thinking. And I'm not blaming anyone....Predjudice is something that sneaks up on people. You may not even be aware of it. The bottom line is that we all have our predjudices, and maybe this is something we should all be working on. I have a lot of my own predjudices. Maybe I should rethink these.... I'm not particularly fond of fat people either. I do try to look beyond that though....

There has been a bill in the works in Montana that states that a resident can buy a custom rifle made in Montana without any background checks. This flies in the face of federal gun control laws. It will be interesting to see if it passes. I haven't heard anything recent on this.....

? It's a matter of choice, and I choose to remain thin. What I do discount is all the whining. If a person is OK with taking in more than they burn - their choice. Just don't tell me their isn't a choice, or whine about not being able to influence the outcome.. It sounds like you have been skinny all your life. What do you really know about weight loss, or the problem of obesity? It may be a choice to remain at a certain weight, for most people. For many it isn't as simple as that. It is like telling an alcoholic or drug addict that the solution is simple....just quit using or drinking. What could be simpler than that. But the problem isn't simple. Many people are out of control. Many want to quit eating, but they can't. Some are suffering from deep seated problems from the past. They can escape some of that hurt by drinking and doing drugs. For many people eating changes how they feel. This can become something powerful and addictive in their life. It's also interesting the predjudice that many people have toward fat people. Many people think fat people must certainly be lazy and no good.....right? After all they aren't skinny like me, so I must be better than they are.....I think some of this thinking can be seen in many of these posts....

That is a good point. That could be a factor in some of this. It would be easier to pull the trigger on someone who looks far different than yourself. I don't know though. Most Iraqis look a lot like our own troops. I don't think they look far different. Many soldiers will give a name like crout, gook, rag head, etc. to the enemy. This might make it easier to kill them....

This is a bit off topic, but it ties into this subject. I read a book recently on the psychological aspects of killing in the military and police work. It's called "On Killing". It's written by a former Airborne Ranger who later became a psychologist. It's required reading in some police academies. It goes on to say that killing another person is not a natural act. Many soldiers just can't bring themselves to kill, even if their life is threatened in combat. In fact the vast majority of soldiers hate to kill in battle. In W.W.II almost half of the soldiers could not even fire their weapons. If they did fire they often fired away from their intended target. I know this is contrary to what we see on TV. In the Revolutionary War, Soldiers would line up at point blank range from each other and start firing their weapons. Hundreds of rounds were fired, but very few were killed or wounded. It wasn't because their weapons were ineffective. It was that these soldiers just couldn't bring themselves to kill the enemy. Most humans have been conditioned not to kill each other, and to respect their fellow man. But through more realistic training, that has changed considerably. In Vietnam the firing rates and killing statistics rose sharply. Better quality training was the key. Soldiers were better conditioned to shoot and kill the enemy. If I recall correctly, the firing rate rose to about 95% in Vietnam. With the advent of video type realism in training, the ability of our soldiers to kill the enemy has never been higher. Todays soldier may indeed be a trained killer ready to do his job. The book goes on to say that violent video games may be having a greater affect on our young people, than we ever imagined. Is this creating an entire generation of killers? After playing some of these games a young person's heart rate and breathing will be sped up for long periods after. They may even have problems sleeping. These games are that real. Some are very similiar to what police use in their training to kill. The author also states that violent movies, and violent scenes in our media are also having conditioning response on all of us. Particularly our kids. What are kids watching for hours a day on TV while parents are working? What video games are they playing for hours a day? I think we are all being dessensitized to violence and killing....

Can you imagine what kids would do if they saw something laying on the ground. They'd pick it up and then get wasted by a sniper. I have a ton of respect for our service men. Most kill to defend themselves and their buddies. But there are always a few psycho-paths out there who never should have been allowed to enter the military. Most sniper schools are on the lookout for men like this, and try to weed them out. I've also known some soldiers who have trained for years in the art of killing. Some of them can't wait to try out their new found skills....

In reply to your writing, Bill, (about the shortage of union plumbers), I thought I'd throw in my two cents worth. I used to work as a union plumber's apprentice. I got into the union on my own merit. That was seldom the case then. Usually to get in you needed to have a Dad who was a plumber, or some other close relative to pull some strings for you. They took very few apprentices each year. That way there would not be too many plumbers flooding the market. Wages are kept high for the same reason. So, it's no surprise there are shortages of union plumbers. It's next to impossible to get into that union without being connected.... Correct me, if I am wrong on any of this. This was what I saw when I worked in that line of work, about thirty years ago. I remember going to some union meetings that reminded me of a Klu Klux Klan rally. Really! Everyone would get all worked up and start shouting "Scab" this, and "Scab" that. There was some problems with non-union plumbers working some jobs, and lot's of union workers were ready to go out and kill some of these "no good" Scabs. I can't remember ever seeing so many angry people, all in one place, getting all riled up....I took it all in, and thought "Wow"! "This is really something!" Since there wasn't much plumbing work available then, I decided to go back to work in the woods, and later back to college.... I guess I wasn't cut out to be a union plumber....This may explain why there are shortages in that line of work though.

Awe Yes, the ole CS chamber. I don't think I'll ever forget that. Rewind about 40 years..... Ft. Polk, La., 1969.....Just for effect our Drill Sargents ran a couple of trainees through the chamber, and then brought them back to display in front of our company. Tears and snot were streaming down their pained faces. They gasped for breath, spitting and puking at the same time. "Now it was your turn, boys!" a grinning D.I. yammered with a loud southern drawl. So, in we went with our gas masks on. I thought it was kind of cool until we had to take them off. One or two breaths later a wave a nausea hits you, and you start coughing your guts out. Tears start pouring out of your eyes like crazy. Finally it's time to go and everyone runs out the door to spit and puke. I sure don't want to do that again....

I'm really not clear on what water-boarding is. I'd like to know. I saw a torture technique, while training in the military. It scared the crap out of me. It involved smothering a person with a wet rag until they broke. I'm sure as hell glad it was never used on me. Airforce pilots were being broken down as part of their escape and evasion training. They were held down, and a wet rag was placed over their mouth and nose. At the same time an asshole interrogator blew cigar smoke into their face. This was done over and over, until they broke. It didn't take long for these pilots to start talking about anything and everything. They felt a feeling of claustophobia and suffocation at the same time. One pilot was shown crying as he was forced to eat his own snot. Many would start blabbing about anything to stop the torture. Could this be fatal? Hell yes it could. It would most likely cause trauma for you to deal with the rest of your life also. If it has proven to be unreliable, why do it? I read a story once of a soldier captured by the Germans. They would hold him under water until he passed out. He later started making up stuff to stop the torture. One time he tried to jump out of a window to kill himself. He was stopped, by his capters, and pulled back inside. As far as I know they never did get any useful info out of him. This torture stuff may work great in the movies, but I wonder how well it works in real life....

We had a huge guy that we jumped with in the army. We had t-10's. I'll bet he was every bit of 250 lbs. (if not more.) They'd let the back straps all the way out and he could barely fit into a standard harness. He was young and tough, and I don't think he ever did get hurt. The being young and tough part is an important ingredient. Knowing how to do a perfect PLF would help a lot too....

I jumped with him on the same load several years back at Lost Prairie. We made some jumps at Coolage (again several years bac. We had the honor of meeting Bob Sinclair at our bon-fire. He took us on a tour of his bus. I read one story where he jumped off the wings of a biplane. The bi-plane looped around and cut the lines of his chute by accident. So he was forced to use his reserve. Another story was of how he jumped into the Rose Bowl game without permission. Then there was the story of when he had a malfunction in Alaska. He cut away and noone saw his reserve open. He was that low. He openned just over the river outside of Palmer, and landed in the water. Recently I heard his sister died and his own health wasn't too good. I hope he is still kicking. Bob Sinclair is one of my heroes in life!.....

Anyone who has grown up in an alcoholic home knows the devastating affects of alcohol. As a counselor I work with a lot of kids from alcoholic and drug addicted homes. Probably the most angry kids anywhere come out of this kind of home. They've been hurt over and over. No wonder they don't function well in a school or anywhere else for that matter. So, I agree alcohol often does destroy homes and ruin lives. I watched my brother die of alcoholism. He was a chip off the old block. He was a drunk just like my Dad. I only have one other brother. We are worried that he too may die of alcoholism. Why does he drink? It might be to cope with all the crappy memories he has of growing up in an alcoholic home.....

I bought a new MK 1 PC in 1973 or 1974 (Red Devil color). My memory may be about gone, but it seemed like the entire canopy was made of rip-stop. Does that seem right? Maybe it is just a fig newton of my imagination.... I jumped another PC a few years back, and it seemed to be made of a completely different material. At any rate, my old PC did burn fairly easily. I had ripstop tape in several places on it (particularly on the stabilizers). Never tried duct tape, but I heard it worked great.....

How is Bob doing? Is he still able to jump?....

Indian Reservations are getting mega bucks to try and solve the problems there. Things are more or less in the planning stages now, but there is big talk of hiring more mental health professionals to work in the schools, and the Indian Health Service. All the licensed school counselors (at my school) were propositioned with job offers from IHS, a couple weeks ago. Supposedly this will be a big increase over our present salaries. I wish I could say all this is well planned. It seems like many of the key players in all this are throwing big money at huge problems with little thought behind it.....

Dan Brodsky wore one of those for a while, after he broke his neck in plane crash. The Doctors told him he should never jump again. He said his neck hurts every day, but he still jumps. I had a hard openning canopy for a while. I learned a better way to pack it, and the opennings usually aren't too awful. I think my neck is still messed up because of that. My chiropractor says the vertebra are wearing out. Maybe that is part of being an old fart. Maybe I should quit jumping. I'm not ready to give it up yet....

Most jumpers had some kind of hardware on their chest, and leg straps in the early 70's. I had quick ejectors on my super pro rig, back then. I don't recall ever seeing thread thru straps, back then. So I wonder if this rig was built after 75 or so. I wasn't jumping then, so I wonder when thread though straps became popular.... I think Strato-star is right. That sure looks like an inboard ripcord, placed in the pocket wrong....

I don't want to ever lose one of my log books. Back in the mid-70's I started to lose interest in jumping. For fifty or sixty jumps I quit logging. I wish I had never done that. It's a lot of fun going back through old log books and bringing back the memories. I wish I had included more names of the people who were on each of those loads. Getting current again after a long lay off is a pain. I took ten years off, and started jumping again during the mid-80's. Things were loose in my old club. I was able to talk my way onto a load. I got a few strange looks when they saw my old gear. I had antique PC, french jump boots, motorcycle helmet, and B-12 container. I made about eight jumps with my new found friends. Things were going great. I had no trouble at all falling stable and doing RW with them. Then I had a malfunction and had to ride a 24 foot, wildly oscilating reserve into a rock pile, with tennis shoes. No fun! I sprained both ankles with my family looking on. So, I took another 15 years off.....Nobody would let me jump without completely re-training. This would have been a huge expense. So, I said the hell with that. Later an old friend that I jumped with in the early 70's said I could jump, as long as I took a quick refresher course. I spent about an hour going through emergency procedures and learning how to fly one of these new fangled square chutes. I then went up and fell base for a five way. Everything went fine. I could still fall perfectly stable. That is something you never forget..... I'm sure glad I didn't have to start all over. There is no way that I would have laid out that kind of money. I was never in any danger, and I think my pal made the right call by letting me jump at his drop zone.....

Didn't the army have some Beavers (at one time)that they flew? I knew some airborne jumpers who static lined out of one....

Beenthere, I was wondering if that was B.J. Worth, in the picture, (crouching just to the left of Hod....The jumper giving the one finger salute.) It kind of looks like him.

I always admired Hod. When I first met him (back in 73) Hod was working nights on the green chain in a sawmill. That was really a tough job. He'd work nights and skydive during the day. He had over a 1,000 jumps on the same 28 ft. round that was covered with duck tape. B.J. made him get a better canopy because he was holding up the team on windy days. Although Hod never had much money, back in the day, he still managed to make a lot of jumps, and jump with the big boys. His wife Tina said that they even lived in a tent for a while at Perris. He now owns a jump operation in Ronan, Montana....

The Navy has something similiar. If you are on their parachute team you have to go through SEAL training. A friend of mine was on their team prior to having to start that training......The Golden Knights are lucky they don't have to go through something as awful as that....