steve1

I had close to 50 T-10 army jumps Around 300 para-commander jumps Two 24 ft. round reserve rides About ten 28 ft. 7-T-U jumps My first square jump was on a para-plane. All were from at least 1,200 ft. except the time we lost track of altitude and I openned my para-commander at 500 ft. I'd love to make an Army (Combat Equipment) Night jump again. Or even jump an old para-commander. It's been about 30 years since the last time I jumped a round, but they aren't as awful as some people make them out to be.....Steve1

My wife and I sometimes nag at each other too much. Or we talk about negative stuff way to often. Aside from all that my wife and kids are supposed to be good Mormans. I'm not nocking the Mormon religion or anything, because the ones I've met seem to be great people. But anyway sometimes I try to do my best impression of what a good Morman is (in my mind), with the wife. You know, just being way too nice all the time. She knows I'm joking around, but I try to say only super positive nice things with a big grin on my face to show her how much I like her. Or ask her a nice question with a concerned look. It's kind of like acting like Donnie Osmond all the time instead of the negative old fart that I am like in real life. After awhile you don't know whether to throw up or just burst into hysterics. Things get real boring in Montana this time of year......Steve1

Let's just say that I'm not the sharpest tool in the box. Or maybe about as sharp as a marble, but I do have a Master's degree............Master Steve1

Michelle, I hope your surgery goes well, and that your recovery is fast. You make a real positive contribution to these forums and I enjoy reading your posts.....Steve1

reply] I saw one guy who competed in some state level contests who was a gymnast and he placed well. I read about another guy who competed in the Mr. Olympia while training hard with weights (and probably steroids) back in the old days. He said he had also won contests without training with weights. He was gifted genetically though. Wide shoulders, properly shaped muscle groups, narrow waist, and plenty of muscle cells. If you don't have the right genes you don't have much chance of going very far in this sport. Anyone can improve by lifting weights in terms of strength and muscle size, but few people have what it takes (genetically) to reach the pro level in body building.....Steve1

QuoteHi Steve: I don't blame you one bit for doing that. However, I would hate having to do your job. Spending all day trying to tell kids to do good so they can get a good job.. blah blah blah, while they watch the most uneducated people in the world get rich and famous on TV. No thanks. I hate thankless, deadend jobs. reply] I don't see it that way at all. Most of my day is spent working with troubled Native American kids who don't have anyone in their life who even give a rip about them. I can't take them all home, but at least I am a good listener. I don't spend our sessions together telling them what to do, but I do try to guide them in the right direction because many of them don't have this at home. It's not a job for everyone, but I go home each night knowing I am helping some of these kids, and that is what keeps me coming back. I was raised by a drunk myself, and I'll tell you it can be a lonely awful feeling growing up in that type of home. Having someone who cares, to talk to, can go along way toward helping anyone through a tough time in their life. I never visited with a counselor when I was young, but I did listen to my teachers who were there trying to guide me in the right direction. I feel it helped me greatly. So I look up to educators, and I respect the job they do each day......Steve1

I used to have a friend who drove a hearse to and from the DZ, and he used to call skydiving "Sport Death". Although this seemed quite funny at the time, I'm still not sure why he did this. He was very anti-establishment, and hated the government at the time. He was an ex-helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Maybe this was just another way of ruffling other folks feathers. and making some sort of statement.....In another words I don't have a clue where the saying came from.....Steve1

I'd go with the free weights. As many mentioned earlier machines take up too much space, are very limited in what you can do with them, and they're expensive. I've had one type of home gym or another for years. I still do flat bench with a long bar, but be careful. It's no fun getting pinned under it with noone to spot. If I'm in doubt about my last rep I don't go for it. I don't use any collars, so in an emergency I can tip the bar one way and let the weights slide off and then the other side will s;ode off the ends. I've been stuck under the bar and ended up trying to slide it down my chest and stomach...No fun! Dumbells are a must for doing lot's of different lifts, and they would be safer than a long bar on bench presses, (as Dave mentioned). Another thing to consider is your motivation level. Although I have a home gym, I usually go to the gym down town. I'm just not very motivated to work out hard at home. That's where I go to relax. But it can be done. Some people, with lot's of discipline, do fine working out at home. I do intend to buy a tread mill soon. My wife now runs by herself, in the dark outside. The weather here often gets below zero in the winter. A treadmill is expensive, but might be another good option to consider......Steve1

MountainMan, Sorry you are getting out of teaching. I know how you feel though. It is often a burn out profession and your first years are the toughest. There's also a big difference between schools. Working with troubled kids (such as an inner city school, reservation school etc.), in a situation where you have to maintain discipline, is almost impossible. My daughter wanted to be a teacher, and I've done my best to talk her out of it. She's got her sights set on becoming a school counselor now. It's a much easier job than teaching. I do know some people who have retired from the teaching profession and still really liked their job, but usually they were working with younger kids in a fairly normal school. Why stay in a situation where you are being pressured to death and you hate it. The smartest thing I did was to quit teaching and became a school counselor. Now I can be Mr. Nice Guy, and maintaining discipline and control is a small part of what I do each day......Steve1

I've been known to make an occaisional jump over in the Minot area. It's definitely not a good place to be in the winter, unless you really like arctic type weather. We call ourselves "North Dakota Air Speed"......Steve1

Let's hope the winds go down. These kind of fires are nearly unstoppable without lot's of help from nature. When I was on a fire crew some of our people fought fire in California. Most of them came home with a huge respect for fires in Southern California because they can move so fast when the wind get's to whipping. I knew one guy who had his crew all pop their fire shelters on a ridge road because there was no escaping the flames. Later that day he reamed out some bosses who put them in the wrong place in that kind of wind. It's too bad they don't have more planes dropping retardant. That can help a lot, but is very expensive......Steve1

Oh, I might add, the wife did get a big antelope. I knew better than to give her any bullets though until after I had my floor mat and boots emaculately clean, and the car aired out, and promised her never to do that again....Steve1

I took my wife out antelope hunting this weekend. Since my pickup needed a new tire we took the car. After driving for a few hours looking for antelope I felt this tremendous bowel movement coming on. Since we were out in mostly flat treeless country with noone around I figure what the heck, I'd hunker down in front of the car and get that job over with. Well my wife figured things might get kind of smelly so she decided to roll up her electric window. Well, I hear this noise, and I figure it's a pickup coming over the hill, so I start dancing all over in the middle of the road trying to get my pants up in time before some other hunters spot this old derelick trying to crap in the middle of the road, all to the amusement of my wife who thinks this is great fun. Well we start driving down the road a ways further when we both come to the conclusion that something really stinks inside the car. About five miles later we decide we have to do something because the odor is now nearly unbearable. So I check the back of my new hunting pants and they look okay. And about then I look at the floor mat and at my boots and realize they are covered with this brown goo. I think my wife is looking for a new hunting pardner....Steve1

We did a back yard demo once out of a Cessna. We planned to build a five way out of the 206. It was a spur of the moment thing. When we got on the ground one guy was missing. Noone saw his canopy open. It was the drop zone owner's kid who we thought exited last. There was some tense moments and then we figured out maybe he didn't exit and jumped by himself back into our old DZ. He got a scolding for this. He should have said that his plan was different from ours and it could have saved some worrying by the rest of us. Another time we had two Cessnas coming back from a jump meet in the old days. The plan was to have a formation load when we got back to town. Both planes were full of jumpers. There was a girl on our plane who somehow missed out on exactly what was happening. She thought we were just building another four way out of the 180 and never saw the other plane. So we went out to build a star and then she noticed these strange jumpers flying out of nowhere to join in on the fun. It kind of freaked her out because she couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Another case of mis-communication......Steve1

My middle name is Verne and I drive a really old pickup. Some folks say I look and act a lot like the Verne who used to be on TV. You can write to me if you want.....Steve1

That's why I buy most of my stuff used. Yes, I'm a cheap-skate....There are some really good buys out there now on used stuff. I bought my Z-1 for $30. from the gear shop in Elsinore. It's kind of fun shopping around for bargains....Steve1

I still recall the Church Window color pattern....Very nice. My PC was solid red. Fred Sands and I had the only two red ones in the state, back in the olden days. Bought it new for $300. I wish the hell I hadn't sold it.....Steve1

I really have my doubts. I think one of the guys who made that movie did admit it was fake. But aside from that noone has even found a single hair from such a beast. Hair folicles are all different depending on species. A single hair can be traced back to what it came off of. It's funny no one can find a single hair off one if there is such a critter. Each year I hunt in some of the most remote areas you can find in Montana, and I still run into other hunters. If these critters do exist how come people aren't seeing them. They could be nocturnal, but I really have my doubts. I always thought it would be great fun to make some big-foot snowshoes and then make some tracks somewhere in the snow or to jump out of the bushes in a gorrilla outfit and scare the hell out of some hiker you didn't really like. But then again you might get your rear shot off, trying such a thing. That reminds me of another story. A friend of mine was out hunting one day when he saw his friend hiking up the ridge toward him. He thought he would play a joke on him, and hid behind a tree. When his pardner walked by the tree he jumped out behind him, and let loose with a tremendous growl and then kicked him in the rear end. The guy freaked out and dropped his rifle, breaking the scope. Then he realized this wasn't his friend, but some other hunter. I don't know how he explained his way out of that one.....Steve1

I've got two or three long necks cooling off in the fridge. I'll drink them in your honor tonight. It's getting to be a habit though. I wonder if this means I'm an alcoholic? And I wonder what I can drink to tomorrow night? Decisions, decisions. As you can tell I have a lot on my mind. I guess I better get back to work....Steve1

Back when I was 19 years old and going through Special Forces training I used to pretend I was rough and tough even though I was really skinny and looked like I was 16. One of the guys we trained with was a former recon Marine. He used to stay up at night telling us stories of all the people he killed in Vietnam. One day we were all gathered together and he asked me, "What do they call you back in Montana?" So I tried to think of something rough and tough and replied,"Big Bull Anders". Everyone thought this was a good joke, and the name stuck....Steve1

I used to think he drowned in the river, since some of his money was found there. Then I watched a TV special about another guy in Utah who tried to do the same hi-jacking. He landed safely (with the cash) but was arrested days later and sent to the slammer. He escaped from prison and was eventually killed when they tried to capture him. The figured it may have been D.B. Cooper. Interesting guy. He was former Special Forces in Vietnam and flew a helicopter for the Utah National Guard. He was also a good Morman who taught Sunday School.....Steve1

I quit back in the 70's after about four years in the sport. It just got to the point where it wasn't that much fun anymore and I didn't have the cash to pursue it like some folks, so I took up a new sport that was challenging and fun. We had another guy in our club who later went on to World Fame in skydiving. He seemed to be from a different world than I was though. His parents paid his way through school, paid his jump bill, and he could do pretty much anything he wanted expense free. If I didn't work... I didn't eat...I didn't jump... and I certainly didn't go to school. He just couldn't understand why I didn't spend all my time at the DZ like he did. Hell, I was trying to work my way through school and didn't have the time or money to do much else. This was another reason I quit. Call it a personality conflict, politics, etc... After being grounded for over twenty years I made a jump. It was with old friends, and after 20 minutes of training we went up and did some RW with old Pals. What a wonderful feeling! I was hooked all over again. I hope I can hang onto the joy that skydiving brings......It's just way too much fun to think of quitting now, but the day may come. Hopefully it will be many years in the future...Steve1

Mouth, Remember in college when your professor's told you that If you don't love every minute you are in the classroom it's time to quit. What in the hell do they know? I wonder if they have ever been there..... I'm sure you will make the right decision on this one. I've worked on an Indian Reservation school for 20 years now. About 16 years in the classroom and I still teach classes as part of my counseling curriculum in the middle school. I've had lot's of great days on the job but, I've also been cussed at, had things thrown at me, called every name in the book, and I agree sometimes I really hated teaching. It would be easy if you didn't have to deal with discipline problems, crazy parents, and nit-wit administrators. Hang in there. I agree this student needs a healthy consequence for what she has done. It's your job to maintain order in the classroom or noone can learn. Most tough kids don't respect you unless you can keep control. And I'm sure you already know this. It's no doubt this student needs some serious counseling, probably more than a school counselor is capable of giving. What she probably needs more than anything else though, is one person in her life who gives a rip about her. I doubt if this girl has ever experienced much love and acceptance in her life from a parent, or she probably wouldn't be acting this way. If she returns to the same dysfunctional home each night, counseling isn't going to be enough to make much difference. I wish there was a easy fix for kids like this. Often times they are scarred for life and it is extremely difficult to change the dead end course they are on. There's lot's of kids that I feel like taking home each night because I know the place they call home is truly hell on earth. I guess that is what keeps many educators going though is knowing you might be the most stable adult in their life. So don't give up the fight. The world needs more good teachers like you.....Steve1

About 350. In the old days most of us didn't have any licenses. After starting back most places wouldn't let me jump without some sort of license. The only license I had was a chest type riggers license. So I had to take the ABC&D test.....Steve1

Jeanne, I'd Love to attend. I'm currently living way over in Eastern Montana, so it may be too far, but it may be a possibility. You know, I'd love to jump some old gear, just for old times sake. A friend of mine has a couple of old para-commanders that are over 30 years old. I may give one of them a try. I enjoyed jumping with you last summer at Lost Prairie. We've got to get a DZ.Com load next year.....Steve1