jimmytavino

"talk about dangerous" indeed... I flew 3 different times, under a ram air towed behind a boat... twice with an old strato-star ( 5 cell) and once under an old strato cloud....we launched off dry land...and as long as you could run FAST,,,,, getting up, was ok..... We had rigged a 3 ring release ( it was a newfangled invention at the time) at the point where the tow line connected to the flier's harness. Twice the breakaway from the line went well,, and I descended ok to the beach ,,, the 3rd time the boat went into a sweeping turn,,,before the release, and despite the easy and gentle toggle inputs,, I slid down and out,, still on the line,,, and smacked the water,,, pretty solidly,,, ( I had a football size and shape, black and blue "souvenir"on my right butt cheek,,,, for that effort) Only when I was down and in the water,, did my "buddy" back off the throttle...(People watching from shore, said all they could hear was a sharp and noticeable SSSLLAAPP!!!.and they heard that,,, about 3 seconds, AFTER they saw me hit.... No wonder that was the last time I tried THAT silliness....... try doin' THAT over dry ground....ouch !! Another day many many years later,,, it was windy- windy at the DZ... like 25 to 30.... so some of the "young bucks" decided to tie a climbing rope to the bumper of a 4 x 4,,, leave the truck parked, as a fixed contact point for the rope,,,, and then hooked the other end to the harness of a sport rig,,, which was worn by the various "test pilots" who were willing...... .... anyway as I watched,, 2 guys held up the left and right chords of the canopy and inflated it with the help of the wind..... the "pilot" popped the toggles,,,, and bang!!!!!, the canopy launched itself up.........only problem was that even with real easy toggle input,,,that canopy started dancing,,, and sliding side to side, in an arc,,, which started looking scary......It resembled a little kids kite,, with out a tail,,,,,which was swinging wildly,,,in what appeared to be, a strong desire to bite the ground...... man I was at the end of the rope near the truck,,, and the gusts were pounding this canopy... and the poor bastard hangin' under it,,, was goin',,," Whoaaaa.,,,, and,,,, Whooooaaaa."....,,, no matter what he did with the toggles,,, it stayed a wild ride,,, after less than a minute of this,,, he yells,,, "get Me down from here !!! ".... so I and 2 others start tugging the rope from the truck,,, and working our way towards the canopy end.... With the 3 of us, we managed to drag the line downwards,,, and got him back on the ground......but it WAS hairy,,all told,, 3 guys tried that stunt that day,,, but it only got bad for the last guy.....and then I NEVER saw that bit of "entertainment" repeated again....It was one of the few times I was ever on a DZ and I got that,,,, "UUUUHHHHH OOOHHHH" feeling in the pit of my stomach....... "lets be careful out there" those dudes were from the school of,,,,"Nothing is to far out,, when it comes to "the entertainment and amusement " of my drop zone buddies..", Indeed.........

There is something to be said for the C 182,, and here is WHAT I usually say ..... " I would rather take an Otter, freefall for 25 SECONDS,,, and find myself at 9,500 feet...

In 2002,,,I started the season the first weekend of May,, jumped til the first weekend of Nov....then the weather faded FAST!!!. made 125 jumps total....120 with video cameras 52 tandems,,, 3 AFF,,, 10 "4 way meet" vids...6 hybrid dives with the freaks... the rest ,,,,, fun RW jumps...( everything from 2 ways to 20 ways.)......a very full year for me,,, and a good pace.....

aside from little 2 liners,, i only have composed One poem which is rather uplifting to me....when i share it........

Yup !!!...

Yeah... a long time ago....'74 ... But I BEAT THE RAP.. hahaha me and 2 pals,,,,(we were 'mind- bending',,,, at a state park,,,) a hard headed law enforcement officer..showed up out of nowhere,,, and in the dark....He did not care for our idea of celebrating the end of college exams ( the dude had NO sense of humor) ...he handcuffed us around a tree !!!!... then took us directly to arraignment......since none of us knew anybody who had the coin to post bail,,, we sat and sat,,for a day and a half , til a buddy finally shook down enough friends to spring us...... a few weeks,, ,, and a couple of thousand bucks,,later,, , we got an "A. C. D.".. .havent changed my leisure time activities a whole lot since then,,,,,,,,, just ....never got caught again

I learned by paying attention,,, and by lots of reading....... Static line progression ( 5 ) then freefall.. 31 years ago.... 2,693 jumps,, every one of them ... logged......

Sure,,, many times, disagreements with parents are tough to deal with........especially difficult if some of the criticism is accurate.....Children are quick to accept the benefits of family life, such as food, shelter, clothing, toys, etc... but slow to accept the responsibilities, that come along with it...such as pitching in around the house, treating the parents, with SOME degree of respect, communicating just a little,,,and yes... once in a while showing some appreciation.......If such behavior does not get established early in life,,, then as a person grows older,,, it's easy to say,,, "My 'old man,, or My Mom," just don't get it.... THEY treat me bad,, THEY don't understand me. THEY constantly rag on me.etc. etc. ... Well it all depends on the track record of both parties...If a child is only motivated to do things which are self centered, if a child puts their own pleasures before the good of the family, if a child is so "independent" that he or she comes and goes as they please at an early age,,, disregarding their parents requests,advice and opinions,,, then yeah,,, sure,,, a rift will be created,, which can most definately carry into adulthood.....but unless a parent is a real poor role model, unless a parent is derelict in his or her responsibilities and unless a parent is violent,,,many times the problem can be created and yes exacerbated by the "me me me" child.....I am a Father for 19 years,, and a son for 49,,, and have seen both sides of the issue, and have seen the parent/child relationship at it's best and at it's worst. Usually the one who is bitchin' the most ,,,, is contributing the least.......Step up and be a responsible family member at all times....and sometimes that might mean accepting the fact that some of the complaints that parents have ,,,,,, just might be justified...No one is a saint.... all the time... parents are wrong sometimes and kids are wrong sometimes,,,,,still there are far to many children, who see their folks as simply a bank book, and supplier of housing, or the people they have to "deal with" until they can get out of the house, and get with their "real friends".......yet when they make stupid decisions or when they do disappointing things,, or when they fail,,or when they put out a minimum of effort,,,, and then slink "back home" to the security" of their parents' house and slam the bedroom door shut...,,,,,they wonder why the father is steamed. ..Until one becomes a parent themselves,,,,, it is best to be less judgemental, more cooperative,, and yes,,, even willing to compomise,,, by listening and rationally interpreting what is being said......If a child IS unsuccesful ( a VERY hard term to define and an equally hard thing to admit) or "throws away" money,,,or is unwilling to work,,, or does little to contribute to some type of healthy relationship... (and sometimes that means just keeping your mouth shut!! and accepting what a parent says),,,, then if those behaviors are TRUE,, you really can't fault the parent who is trying to point it out......If the behaviors which a child is "accused of" are false.......a shouting match will never help....rather choose another time when tempers have cooled and discuss it,, by saying, "Hey Pop, Dad, Daddy, (or whatever)...Can we sit and talk, cause I DO respect your opinion,, but I want to clarify some misassumptions which you have about me"... I know of very few Fathers who would reject such a request....... If so,,, then they never should have become fathers in the first place..... Man you need a license, to drive, a license to get married, a registration form to vote, working papers to work, and a social security card to have an identity,,, but anybody can become a Father.... It takes a real Man to do THAT responsibly, and more importantly to recognize the importance of the job.....peace....

"Keep on "Truckin' " skydive softly, skydive often, skydive with friends

I pack it differently than the next guy ,, who packs it differently than somebody else,,, who packs it differently than the packers at my DZ....... who pack it differently than the packers at your DZ...... jeez,,, what could be simpler???? Ah variety,, the spice of life....

not ALL Men,,,

PD Spectre..... Great openings,,, nice and square, never a twist,,,,, flies very well,,, handles good in brakes,,,nice landings,

"I had a choice between the first jump certificate and the logbook.... I took the logbook"... There you go!!!! Great choice... "Two roads diverged in the Wood,,,, and I,, I chose the one less traveled,,, and THAT has made all the difference"..Robert Frost I became a skydiver,, in much the same way..W,, picked, up the college newspaper,,( 1972) saw an ad for the "Skydiving Club".( it said,,"Get High. Go Skydiving" hahaha after all it WAS the '70's... ) and jumped within a week.... and Wendy,,,,I pretty much followed the same path as you,,, static line start, old gear, perserverance, flexibilty,,,,tough, for anyone,,and real tough for the girls, especially the smaller girls,,, the gear was heavy, and "off landings" were frequent. I quickly came to the simple realization, that Indeed, I was a skydiver..... in addition to everything else...........

I M H O .... It almost looks like a multiple exposure of a FULL MOON, over the course of a Night.... rather than the sun,,over the course of a day,,,,,since the photo is rather "dark". but "I've been wrong before, I'll probably be wrong again" .

This wasn't emphasized enough, so I'm repeating it. If you stay in skydiving for a few years, you will be attending wakes and funerals for friends. My thoughts here,,, were absolutely referring to the people with whom skydivers,,, formerly spent their time..... and not referring to fellow jumpers...... as your post seems to indicate..... Yes you are correct to bring up this subject,, since it is valid.....but it was not EVEN on my mind as I responded to this thread...I was talkin' about the "whuffos you might leave behind"...... My personal experience has been,, that of all the dozens!!! of such services,, I have attended for fellow jumpers and/or their families,,, over the Decades,,,, very FEW of them,, very few,, were the result of a skydive.....Still the loss of anyone is difficult. kallend you make a good point , that all jumpers must be aware,,, that because of the seriousness of our sport, such a possibility exists...

studied this a bit in college.... The fossil record seems to give evidence that there has been a long slooooow process , consisting of gradual individual changes,,(environmentally determined) leading to the present species, which inhabit the planet Earth today...Natural Selection,,,,doesn't mean the biggest and roughest, will Dominate,,, it means that those individuals who possess the BEST traits to match well with their specific environmental requirements,,,,will live long enough, to "mate and reproduce" thereby transferring those TRAITS,, to the next generation.. those without these Physical components, will not survive long enough to mate..(generally speaking) ..and so their "less valuable" traits, fade away..from the population at large .( i. e. Those "inferior" traits, get "selected OUT " naturally, and the better traits get selected "in" ) ( of course we must be open minded that what may be a 'good' trait for one part of the planet may not be good for another part) thus we have variety within species. The fossil record, mostly from the equatorial areas of the world,, show that Humans and Apes SHARED an ancestoral history UNTIL about 10 million years ago... The species branched then,, or about then,,, and from this varied "tree" sprang the current day Human Species, and the current day Ape Species,,,,,The apes of today,,, are FAR different from the Pre-ape ,, Pre-human animals which existed all those million years ago... As for creation,,,,Well certainly, there was some sort of HUGE energy at work....Be IT Scientific or Cosmic or Theological,,,, but the expanse of the Universe is so Vast,,,,that who are we to state what may have occured so far back in time?????Something kick started the whole thing ( some call it Big Bang) some call it God,,, but It is accurate to say that once this event occured,, The universe has operated on its own scientific plane, to establish some type of Physical Equilibrium. which has been effective,, for billions of years.... They say the earth is 4 billion years old,,, and Man has been around for only a speck of time,, by comparison....Isn't it possible that we DON"T know all the answers??....But we must still ask the questions. and I'm afraid skygod7777, it'll be up to you to answer them...

Heehee, and I bet you had to walk to school 3 miles uphill in the snow too! .... Well not quite that far,, skymama...

Whoa Whoa....Are you saying that I am Arrogant??? Read my post again,, bro',,, because what I said, is simply that the Real NY is best defined by the City of NY, .. I never said NY is "THE CITY"...but that is how YOU seemed to read it........ I also say POP,, ( since I have lived upstate now for 30 years) so are you saying that I am a Hick????,as per your earlier post??? I sure hope not pal......... peace.... jimmeettee A 3914...D 12122

I hear you bro' The REAL New York,, IS the CITY,,, and Long Island EVERYTHING North of Westchester. is UPSTATE.,,, even if it's closer to Downstate,,Than it is To Upstate....hahaha and THEY are the ones who call it POP . As I said jtval,,, we always said soda.... signed jtv ino

When I was a Kid,,, I grew up near New York City,, and we called it soda,,,,, or more correctly....... "So -Derrrr" .....

Video wasn't hardly INVENTED,,,yet,,, and I already had 1500 jumps...

I would like to look EXACTLY like someone looks,,, once they are worth 3 million dollars... (please see the thread, which is titled " Would you be thrifty or extravagant"?? , read my response, THERE,,,,and this post will make sense) .

If it was legitimate,, and over 3 million,,, I think I would buy a Super Otter,,

Cost...??? It costs you one of the DEEPEST commitments you can make in life ( if in fact you go PAST the student phase of the sport)... For some of us, it costs....the loss of acquaintances. For some it costs.. the loss of some of our family and even spouses....and for some the cost is a MAJOR change to their entire (former) lifestyle. But NOW the PAYBACK.... The rewards, the return on investment.....Well most of you do not need me to tell you that the return is a life ALTERING ,, and amazing... Catharsis,,,or rebirth... For some it comes at a young age in their lives,, when they didn't even think they NEEDED to be "reborn",, For some it comes at a later time in their lives,,, when maybe they WERE looking for something new, and exciting.. But for ALL of us... the rewards,,, are SO significant,, that the cost,, is minor,, in comparison... Remember also... there are other ways to "finance" your skydiving passion,, besides the "almighty dollar".....If you are creative, gregarious, inventive, and willing to work....skydiving, can be paid for by everything from becoming a staff member, to packing for tandems and experienced jumpers, to working a deal with the DZO to "run a pushbroom every so often" or to find a niche at the DZ where you can generate, a few $$$$ or a few lift tickets,, each time you visit the DZ...