tigra

Please Children! DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS!!!!!

Hey Chris, Here's a rule for you when you biff............. (we've all been there!) If you are OK, stand up right away and give a thumbs up! Then the rest of us on the ground won't come running or call an ambulance! Glad you got to jump today!! maura ps: when I was a student, I used to come home and grab the ice packs out of the freezer! Isn't skydiving FUN?????

What??? Is that whining I hear????? Quick, somebody call the waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaambulance! Sorry, couldn't resist! For what its worth, its a beautiful day here in Chicago, but I've been running errands, doing laundry and cleaning the house. (With a short break to start the new Harry Potter book!!!) I'm thinking I'll leave for the dz tonight and get a few jumps tomorrow!

Just finished the first 2 chapters! I am loving it!

Hey Geronimo, This is an odd somewhat dysfunctional family here. While some people "got" your post, others chose to view it as an "attack" on Deuce, (who is pretty popular in these parts.) So, they got on the defensive without really looking at what you were trying to say. (IMHO) Sometimes people who a) express strong opinions and b) have limited information in their profiles are instantly dismissed as TROLLS. I say keep posting and passing on information as you see fit. Maybe it will reach some people who need to hear it. Peace and blue skies! maura

Wrong. She's not a troll. You might not like what she said or how she said it, but she brought up some very valid points.

Just another advantage of the prescription stuff (as long as you have decent insurance.)

My locker is for storing my gear while I'm not at the dz jumping!

I'm probably one of the few people on the planet that actually liked Ishtar.

I'm not a skygod, but I have a locker and a trailer. Generally, neither one is locked during the day while I'm jumping. If I'm not at my home DZ, I leave my purse locked in my car, but its too much trouble to lock up my gear in between jumps.

You can get Claritin over the counter now, and its "non drowsy." Personally, I think Allegra is better, though. What works best for me is Flonase- that's a nasal inhaler. If I'm using that regularly, I have no allergy symptoms at all. I used to really suffer certain times of the year, and the over the counter stuff for the most part did not work, or made so dopey I couldn't function. So now, in the spring or early summer, I just make a doctors appointment and get the good drugs! Ragweed season is just around the corner, you know!

Where is Chevy Chase when we need him!

Time to say goodbye Til we meet again, blue skies Fly free, Roger, fly!

I guess it was time for a laugh! (Referring to the last picture!)

Terry, I'm TRYING to take the high road. I guess I'm not quite there, yet. Sorry, but I'm hurting right now. Peace to you! maura

Welcome Shayne! Beautiful words! Thanks for posting them here. I've missed you, and I'm glad to hear you are jumping again and you sound happy and well! I know Roger would be pleased! Peace & Blue skies! maura (Your once upon a time neighbor in the campground...)

John, He's a sad pathetic person without much of a life. So much if his "adult" life was spent as an associate, friend and employee of Roger's. I think when that relationship was severed (by Terry, not Roger), he was at a loss as to what to do with his life...... As you said before, Roger was one of those people who could see the potential in you and help make you something more than what you thought you could be. I guess without Roger in his life, Terry went back to being the loser he had been before. Am I angry at him right now? Yes, but I think he deserves our pity more than anything else. (Trying to take the high road here because i think that's what Roger would want....) peace & blue skies, maura

I think Roger would have asked us all to pray for Mr. Rome in his weekly update, and invited him over to try the Kool Aid. That was Roger, and that's the man we lost on Saturday. maura

Thanks Bo!

Thank you for posting, Jodi. I think its fair to say that Roger considered Johnny a part of the SDC family. He has a lot of friends there. I'm glad to hear he's recovering. Stories about Roger, well I guess I have a few. But what really struck me was how much he was enjoying himself this year. He was stepping back a bit from the day to day operation of the business and just enjoying what he built. Proud of his children, proud of his DZ, the ultimate skydiving resort! Making lots of jumps with everybody, walking through the hangar and making sure everyone had someone to jump with. I haven't been able to spend as much time at the dz this year as I usually do, but I really did enjoy seeing Roger this year having such a great time. His spirit and energy were contagious, and I hope that will live on. maura

Thank you, Gary! maura

Last year in one of his weekly updates, Roger talked about one novice jumper's "breakthrough moment", and that got me thinking about mine. It was my AFP level 11 (cannonball exit and backloops) and Roger was my JM. It was my first (of many) jumps with Roger, and I was soooooooooo nervous to be jumping with him. I was afraid I would screw up, that I wasn't good enough. While we were dirt diving, I was practicing tracking towards him for a dock. He kept slapping at my hands because my thumbs were sticking out for some reason......... Anyway, the jump didn't go perfect. I couldn't do a 360 on my back, but I did do my back loops. Then I had a hell of a time flying to him and docking on him. And when it was time to turn and track, I got unstable in my track and ended up pulling lower than I should have. (I still have the video and you can see his finger giving me the pull signal in the frame of the camera) Then, I had a hard enugh opening to knock one shoe off, and line twists. (my first) And when I landed, I had a gian grin on my face even though I was sure I had failed that level. I walked into the AFP trailer to debrief, missing one shoe, talking about a mile a minute. Sorry, got unstable there, had a hard time with those docks, did you see my line twists, I lost a shoe! All coming out all at once. For some reason, Roger did NOT fail me, and encouraged me to make another jump that day, and Mia Bohr, one of the ultimate manifest "Bytches" ever, loan me her shoes! That's just one of my "breakthrough moments" courtesy of Roger Nelson, a man who will be sorely missed. maura FB4100

Why the attitude, Marc? She's hurting as are we all. I realize there are rules for this forum, guidelines for content, etc. But last I heard, sensitivity and decency were still allowed. maura

Another jumper once made the comment that she could tell how good her weekend was by counting up the bruises on Monday! That's logic only a skydiver can understand!

I've been in the sport since 1996, but I would have to say the answer to your question is Yes, people are pulling higher, and a lot of that has to do with equipment changes. Slower openings, aads, HP canopies with a perhaps greater potential for high speed malfunctions. It just makes sense to give yourself a little more time. 4500' breakoff for a 3 way belly dive? Depends on the experience level of the people you're jumping with I guess. Sucking a 10 way to 3500' is LOW in my opinion, but I've seen it and done it. And for safe separation, I've taken it to 2000' on big ways, but the ground sure looks big from that altitude!