Mockingbird

The author nailed it. Thanks, burble.

Hi Burbleflyer--- the libs here hate the prez so much that they will NEVER admit that he's done something right and/or good. I didn't care much for Clinton, but I could at least acknowledge when he did a good thing... but that's 'cos I'm a conservative and ALWAYS fair. Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

I sure will, Paraman! Thanks for caring. Good luck with yours, too!! I hope to do mine this weekend--- we have a long weekend because of Labor Day on Monday, so maybe I can get both levels 6 & 7 done! I hope, I hope, I hope!

YEA!!! for teachers like you!

You got that right! Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

MANY of us students feel this way about our instructors. I did, because I could see that my instructor was really becoming familiar with the way I think and the way I learn. Other students might do fine with whatever instructor they are assigned to, but I'm not like "other students" , (My instructor can attest to that.) If I'm able to go tomorrow, I will be jumping with a different instructor, but that's only because I've gained a lot more confidence in the past 3 jumps and I don't think I need this particular instructor to "hold my hand" any more. I bet you'll be the same way when your confidence increases. Another common feeling among students. We wanna' jump, we wanna' jump, we wanna' jump--- but when we get to the dz, thank God it's raining! That, too, is just a symptom of a lack of confidence. If you continue with your AFF progression, which i bet you do, the confidence will come. But you also probably felt relieved because your Dad was there. He was making you more nervous than you would've been if you'd gone alone. You probably felt a sort of need to perform well for him. Of course, you felt relieved when that pressure was removed! Parents can do that to a person!! You don't need that added pressure. How old are you, Jigs? (I'm 51, and my 80-something parents still worry about me. There's no way I'd take them to my DZ--- at least not until I had my license!) We're just students--- having to perform well for anyone but ourselves and our instructors would be quite a psychological burden. You're not ready for that. It's just my opinion, but I think you should go alone from now on so that you can concentrate on your skydiving lesson rather than worry about what your parents are thinking or feeling.

Bill, I can see why tracking is such an important skill to master. How do people practice tracking when there are no immovable markers in the sky to guage your distance, speed, and angle etc. by? Thanks for that info, by the way! Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

Sparky, was the equipment pretty hard on ya' back in the 70s and 80s? I started at age 50 and am always bemoaning the fact that I didn't start when I was a young chick... but I've been told that is was a lot harder and unsophisticated as a sport back then. Tell us about that. Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

I'm still sopping wet behind the ears, but I guess this will be explained to me somewhere along the way... but I don't understand how everyone can break off and track in enough different directions not to hit anyone above or below when their canopies open. Scares the bejeebers out of me. Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

Hoodyraydums!

AND NOW FOR A BIT OF COMIC RELIEF... August 21, 2005: Best? Movie. Clip. Ever. http://www.extremewisdom.com/archives/2005/08/best_movie_clip.php Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

Another liberal distortion of fact. You make it sound like the central headquarters of ABC refused to show the ad, when *in fact,* it was only one local ABC station in Salt Lake City that wouldn't air it. The other stations in the city DID air it. And by the way, the ABC affiliate in Boise, Idaho, DID decide to air it. It's only been aired in two cities.... where Pres. Bush was sceduled to be this week. Incidentally, that awful "right-wing" FOX NEWS actually aired at least 30 seconds of the spot... so people all around the globe got to hear what wise old Ms. Sheehan had to say. I think that was pretty darn nice of them, don't you?

My opinion is that this woman has serious emotional issues. And I don't mean bereavement. She's demanding the most illogical things. For Pres. Bush to meet with her so he can explain why he had her son "murdered"? And yet she says she doesn't *really* want him to meet with her because then she'd have to stop the vigil. For American troops to be brought home immediately? Oh sure, this makes a LOT of sense. Everyone in their right minds knows that this would be a disaster. Then our dead soldiers definitely will have died in vain. Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

Good catch, jd. Libs always distort facts like this. So lame. Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

Gordon, if you should end up going to Perris Skyventure in CA, contact Ed Dickinson to help you. He's an awesome instructor!!! (I was there last month to learn how to stop spinning in freefall.) Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

CONGRATULATIONS!!![/B][BEER] Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

Hi, Sean. Gee, you and I both did Level 4 six times and were "fixed" by the wind tunnel! So you know how I felt failing time after time. It sure feels GREAT to succeed! It's so much more fun. So, have you done your back loops? How did that go? I'll be doing that this coming weekend. Glad you wrote, and congratulations on your progress!!! Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

Glad to see you're comin' around, Bill. Hey, even tho' we disagree politically, you rock. (Seriously.) Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

How sweet it is! Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

LET ME GUESS--- Aljazeera.com?? Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

See now?--- This is what I'm talking about! This war is so politicized that those who are against it will still find fault with one or more of these achievements. Watch. Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

I must confess, in this instance I am jumping to conclusions... but with many previous instances in mind. Just because ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, or MSNBC does a report on this man's counter-protest does NOT mean that their coverage of him is not cast in a negative light. On the contrary, I will bet dollars to donuts that they made him look either mean or insensitive to the poor grieving (but bitter and profane) mother, either by implication or by showing video footage of some weird off the wall thing he said or did. If I'm proven wrong, I'll admit it. Really. Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

You know those photographs of malfunctions that your instructor shows you as you practice your EPs? Are those photos available anywhere on the internet? Blue skies & happy jitters ~Mockingbird "Why is there something rather than nothing?"

This is great--- CONGRATULATIONS!

Sure, CNN, MSNBC, and ABC might cover his story, but how do they portray him? Do they imply that he has the same rights as Mrs. Sheehan, or do they portray him as a trouble-maker for that poor mother, Mrs. Sheehan? Their bias isn't so much in WHAT or WHO they cover as it is in their portrayal of who they cover. (It's funny how media-bias is in the eyes of the beholder-- to "left-wingers" the media has a bias to the right... Whereas, the right-wingers, well, we see it correctly. )