steve1

For the past several decades my brother has been keeping up the family tradition of alcoholism. He went to treatment a couple years ago and he was told if he continued to drink he'd die. Soon after treatment he started drinking again. He checked into a hospital a few weeks ago because he was too weak to stand up. They sent him home saying there's nothing they can do, and that he will be dead soon. My 75 year old mother and step-dad are now in Palm Springs trying to take care of him. They wanted to bring him back to Oregon to die, but he's too weak to make the trip. Each day they see him get a little weaker. He fell off the toilet the other day. His liver is shot and he can't eat. My Mother sleeps in the same bed with him so she can give him the morphine he needs to fight the pain. What a way to go! My Mom called up the other day crying saying it's the biggest nightmare of her life. My brother once lived in the high rent district on a golf course. Now he is pennyless and doesn't even have hospital insurance. I hope I'm not depressing everyone too much by writing this. Thanks for listening....Steve1

I've got two, but should probably sell one....Steve1

I know a Native American guy who liked the military because, in his mind, everyone was considered equal. His comment was that everyone was one color..."green". But then I got to thinking about my time in the military. There is a definite caste system there. If you have less rank than someone else you are considered a peon by many of those who have more rank. If you are an NCO you are second rate to an officer. If you are an enlisted man you are looked down upon by both. There are even places you can't go unless you have the rank to be there. Equal rights in the Army? In many ways I think not. I think one of the funnest times that I had in the army, was one day when we were asked to go wash the colonel's car at a local car wash. On the side of the car was the Colonel's insignia. So naturally one of us played driver while the other two sat in the back, and pretended to be officers. It was great fun watching everyone on the street, snap to attention and salute us as we drove slowly by. Of course, we had disgusted arrogant looks on our faces as we saluted back. There's more than one way to break the boredom of a crappy detail....Steve1

You would loose that bet, read the rest of this thread. Well let's bet then. You can be the guinea pig. And remember no cheating on your diet. No matter how sick you get....Steve1

Back in the olden days we had a twin beach full of skydivers and jumped into a college football game. They didn't have a stadium then, and there was a golf course on one side, so we all left in one pass. I remember looking over at one of my buddies who had a malfunction on his para-commander. He had red smoke on his boot, and he was spinning in a circle. He cut away okay and landed safely. Things were a lot different back then. The most experienced guy on the load had around five or six hundred jumps. The least experienced had around a hundred. All the rules and regulations now are a pain, but they are probably keeping a lot of jumpers alive. It's a much safer sport now, and we took way too many chances back in the olden days....Steve1

I agree. Your body needs quality carbs. for energy. Things are out of balance if you are eating too much protein and fat on an Adkin's diet....Just my opinion...I know you can lose lot's of pounds if you follow it, but I'd bet money you could also do serious damage to your body if you followed it for a long period of time.....Steve1

Sorry for the confusion, I hope that clarifies things a little. As they say “clear as mud”. I think I understand now. Your explanation was good, I'm just kind of slow. They attach to the inside elbow rather than down by your waste, and you still have a loop on your hand. I like the idea of putting a glove over the loop of your throw out hand only. Thanks for the info.....Steve1

My mind is working really slow tonight. If the swoop cords were too short and attached inside your elbow, and if you had velcro cuffs, all you would have to do is unfasten the velcro on your cuffs. I like the idea of not having the loops to worry about. I think I'm going to sew some in and give them a try...Steve1

This sounds like a great idea but I'm just wondering how safe this would be. If you have tight fitting cuffs that won't pull down, and if they were attached inside the elbow, you'd get the same affect as the conventional swoop cords. I'm just wondering though, what "could" happen if they were set too short and you couldn't reach your toggles couldn't this cause some problems? I've only used swoop cords a couple times, and haven't made up my mind on them yet. Thanks for the input,....Steve1

Isn't winter awful. It's been between 20 and 30 below here for about three weeks now. Almost two feet of snow. It hasn't melted since October. I need to move!! But on the bright side it warmed up to almost 35 today. Five more years and I'm out of here. My retirement kicks in then and I'll be heading to warmer places. I haven't jumped since Sept. so I'm one grumpy old fart...Steve1

Katieangel, I started jumping in Missoula in about 72'. I'm terrible with names and may have jumped with you. I also jumped at Sheridan at times and recall Ted Mayfield and Elevator well. The jumping is shut down in Missoula now. Everyone in the area jumps at Stevensville, which is owned by Hod Sanders. He started jumping in 72 in Missoula. B.J. Worth started in about 70 there also. Bring your rig if you get back to the area. It'd be fun to see you again...Steve1

What an accomplishment! We're proud of you guys....Steve1

Mike, Glad you're on here.....Steve1

Get well soon Jerry. One of my goals in life (since the 70's) was to some day jump with Jerry Bird....Steve1

I heard stories of a guy in our state who wasn't certified and was packing reserves for folks. I think he failed the practical part of the test (sewing I believe). He's fully qualified now, but for a while he was rigging with a phony seal. I retired from rigging years ago. Actually, I didn't know how to do much more than pack a chest reserve. At any rate, back in the good ole days, I was a rigger. I went to the web site given, but couldn't figure out how to get in. My old seal was MOZ. Just curious to see if I'm on there.....Steve1

Quote Last night, on the other hand, involved a lot of alcohol, several birthdays, and an elephant.reply] hmm...That sounds a little kinky to me....Being from Montana I could understand alcohol, birthdays, and a sheep. But an elephant? Well, that's another matter entirely. Maybe I'm just not open minded enough. And I'll bet Hod or Blaine wouldn't approve either....Steve1

I learned to psycho-pack off of a web-site on the computer. I made my own extension on my wife's sewing machine out of some nylon webbing. I'd hate to go back to pro-packing. When you roll it up try "Not" to push the lines down toward the skirt of the canopy. I make a couple folds from the top, and then roll it the rest of the way. Don't forget to take the twist out the right way. I'm no expert on this, but have made about 200 jumps on a psycho pack. It opens great....Steve1

The gear I had in the 70's had quick eject hardware on leg straps and chest strap. When I started up again I wasn't used to the chest straps you had to thread through. I bought a rig that had velcro on the chest strap to hold the extra slack. One day I went up to jump and was sitting student, when an older jumper noticed how I had threaded it through wrong and just fastened the slack on the velcro. Yes, I could have fallen out. They say you only have to do this once and you'll always remember to check it in the future....not true! I was climbing for altitude in the plane when I happened to glance down and I'll be damned if I hadn't done it again. Threaded it through once and fastened the velcro. So I cut the velcro off and haven't had any trouble with chest straps since. I wish more gear checks were given. Older more experienced jumpers may not need them, but people who are new to the sport do. I also try to make a habit of looking over my buddies gear for any obvious mistakes. Some may be covered by closing flaps though and I'm not going to start digging around back there, Unless they ask. A lot of people don't want anyone messing with the routing of their bridals, and I can see this point also. I've got one rig that if the bridal is shoved in too far will hang up on a rigid flap and possibly cause a pilot chute in tow. So I don't want anyone giving it an extra little shove during a gear check....Steve1

I'm a school counselor now, but taught for 16 years in the elementary grades.... I'm way north of the equator. In Montana....I might add it was 35 below this morning with tons of snow that hasn't melted since October. Talk about a crappy winter.....Steve1

ah, that's a funny one. I knew Montanians and Southerners thought a lot alike.....Steve1

Wow! Multiple 300 ways! Amazing!....Steve1

I still remember when Jerry Bird's "All Stars" came to my home town to jump back in the early 70's. I never have met him, but he's still one of my heros. I hope he gets well and returns to jumping soon. Is there a reason he didn't go to Thailand this year? I think he was a team leader at the record jump in Thailand a few years ago....Steve1

I quit jumping a very long time ago. Back in the early 70's everyone jumped with either french para-boots or high topped hiking boots that you laced tight for extra ankle support. It was something you did to keep from getting hurt back in the days when a high-tech parachute was still round. Then after 25 years without jumping I started up again. After making about 50 jumps at our local Cessna DZ, I figured I was ready to jump at Perris and Elsinore. After all I was a bad-ass relative worker from the old days, and I figured I still had what it took. I was waiting to get on our jump ship at Perris, when this guy comes walking up, all geared up, with no shoes. What the hell!! I don't know how long I stood there staring with this big frown on my face. I mean it was kind of like spotting the devil in church....I just couldn't figure that one out. And then I was on another load the next day, and I was seated up toward the front of the otter, when I notice everyone is kind of smiling at me, so I smile back at them, and then I notice they aren't smiling at me, they're smiling at the gal next to me. About then I notice she doesn't have her shirt on...What the hell!! So anyhow the first few years back were a real learning experience. I still don't have it all figured out, but it looks like fun....Steve1

Got married at 30 and my eldest daughter was born about a year later. The 2nd daughter a couple years after that. The wife and kids are what make my life worth living. That is including skydiving and all that goes with that....Steve1

Did anyone else have to sing this in phase 1 at Camp McKal? Every morning after a run around the airstrip we'd start class with this song to the delight of our instructors. Then, if you fell asleep in class there was the threat of this huge black snake that supposedly they'd put down your shirt to help keep you awake. I recall one morning after singing my heart out, to impress the instructor cadre with what a great candidate I was for SF, a sargent walked up to me and said in a deep Southern drawl, "My God, how old are you boy?" I don't think they believed me when I squeaked out "20" because I looked about 15. Somehow I made it through....Steve1