Donna

This was posted on rec. ******************************************************* I am sorry to report that experienced skydiver Tony Weber, died Memorial Day weekend from injuries sustained from a hard landing at Cedartown GA., Skydive Atlanta. During a holiday road trip with friends, to celebrate college graduation, Tony made a hard landing under a relatively new Vengence 150, at the Cedartown GA dropzone. He was airlifted off the DZ and died of his injuries 4 hours later. Tony was a regular jumper at SEMO Skydiving. He was the president of the SIU Skydiving Club. He was a great role model for the new jumpers, and a positive influence on skydiving in general. He was working on his instructional rating and would have been an asset to our club, or any skydiving operation. He was a really good guy. His parents moniter the NG if you would like to make a positive comment. I have the address of his parents if anyone would like to send a card. We are all saddened by his loss, and will miss him. He died doing what he loved best...skydiving. Paul Gholson SEMO Skydiving D-17101 instructor *********************************************************** My deepest condolences to Tony's family and friends. Blue Skies, D

Or since Barry already has the fatality page why not concentrate on a nonfatal incident page. I think we can learn a lot from them. I'm glad they have some in Parachutist now but most go unreported. I think it's great when people talk about incidents they recently experienced. Take the recent line twist story. I know after reading that that I will be much more altitude aware than if I hadn't read it. If I have bad line twists now that will be in my head. I never really thought about how much quicker you could be losing altitude because your canopy is compromised from the twists. Maybe you could make a form for people to fill out telling about the incident, what gear they were using, how many jumps they have etc. No names needed. Or names for you but that would not appear on the published report. Just a thought. Blue Skies, D

I heard www.skydivingfatalities.com is Barry's page. It was just moved to it's own domain and is database driven now. I imagine it takes a while to be updated because there is often conflicting reports in the beginning. Most newspaper articles have a lot of wrong info. Better to wait and try and get the real info. Lots of times this is hard to get and takes a while. Blue Skies, D

I had my A license back then, too. Lucy sure is one adorable baby!! Great news on the sleeping! Blue Skies, D

Congratulations!! Where did you jump? Good luck on the rest of your levels! Blue Skies, D

Hey Chris - Sorry to hear about your neck. I had something similar last fall. My right arm kept getting all tingly and going a bit numb... kind of like when you sit on your foot and it falls asleep. First they treated me for my shoulder but then my doctor sent me for x-rays of my neck and it showed something up between C5 and C6. She got me all nervous saying I might need surgery and stuff but then sent me for an MRI. It turned out not being as bad as they thought. I have some degeneration and something else. I forget exactly. I was just happy whatever it was didn't involve surgery. I was on 800mg of ibuprofen 4x a day for quite a while and the symptoms went away and it really hasn't bothered me too much. Just a few flare ups but ibuprofen seems to help. Hopefully yours won't be too serious either. It really sucks when a bunch of things happen around the same time. It can wear you down. Don't let it. Hang in there and try to keep your spirits up. Better days will come. Let us know how you make out. Good luck! Blue Skies, D

Just in case you didn't look yet to give you an idea of what _might_ be involved. Last year for recurrency I did some harness time and then did a level IV type AFF jump with an instructor. I had learned by AFF and it had been 8 months since I had jumped. Good luck, Justin. How's your sweet daughter doing?? Blue Skies, D

Michele - Enjoyed your story as usual. Thanks for sharing!

I'm so sorry to hear about this. My heartfelt sympathy to all friends and family. Blue Skies, D

Michele - I SO understand your frustration and where you are coming from. I started jumping in July '99. Just did a couple tandems that year. The next spring I started AFF. Because of problems with the airport students could only jump on Sunday that year and so many Sundays we got weathered out so it took most of the summer to even get through student progression. The whole time I fought the fear demons. By October I was finally starting to feel a bit comfortable and not so neurotically fearful about jumping and then I had my off DZ jump where I ended up in a tree and then fell 30 feet and injured my back. Due to my back and then lots of snow it was April before I was ready to jump again and then I wrecked my knee before I even got in the air. It was July before I finally did get back up there and by then my fears were back with a vengance. I was really terrified of landing off again. On every jump I was neurotic about who was spotting, where jump run was being flown, what outs were in that area, what the exit order was, could I end up downwind of the airport again, were there many clouds that could affect the spot, etc. etc. I did manage to get another 25 jumps in but it still wasn't with enough frequency to totally get over my bad case of nerves. Again, by fall, it was getting easier and more fun. Then I had knee surgery and again I've gone through a long layoff. I've been really pumped to start jumping again and I've been doing a lot of visualization about my comeback jumps and have just been waiting for my knee so I can do it for real. I was feeling pretty darn good about it all. I swore it was going to be different this year. Then 2 weeks ago my husband almost killed himself on a downwind landing and while watching him in the ER, knowing he had broken vertebrae in his back and watching his blood pressure plummet and the fear I felt over losing him or having him end up paralyzed I thought to heck with skydiving. It is not worth this! It really scared me... and it scared him. It was very frightening thinking of life without him or with him in a wheelchair. Sure I had thought about the possibility before but this drove the reality of it home. Luckily he will be fine. No spinal damage and no other real injuries (besides lots of bruising) and his 4 vertebrae (L1-4) are healing nicely. The last two weeks I've given a lot of thought to jumping. I had never worried about my husband under canopy. He had always done pretty well. He never really listened to the radio as a student and he had been on the same load as my tree jump and managed to set down in this tiny clearing. He only has 111 jumps but was always cautious and I knew he'd never be into hooking or anything. He seemed like a sensible, careful jumper under canopy. I couldn't believe he had screwed up as bad as he did. He couldn't either. He's not sure where he is going from here. Part of me - the wimpy chicken wuss part - has latched onto this incident thinking it is time to call it quits. There is kind of a relief to think of never having to put myself through that gut wrenching case of nerves that I always get the morning of a jump. I also gave thought to my kids and what we are doing to them. This was driven home when last week as my husband was laying there in pain and my 14 year old son walked in and looked at him and then me (who is still dealing with knee issues) and says in this funny voice, "Sooooooo, what are your parents like?" and then replies, "Oh they're cripples." and turns around and walks out. I also worry about my husband. I think if I quit he would quit. He got into jumping because I did. If we continue jumping and anything ever happens to him again I will feel totally responsible. So needless to say I have given all this jumping stuff some very serious thought. What I finally came down to was what would life be like without jumping in it?? I have lived with thoughts of planes, canopies, blue skies, freefall, DOOR!!, jet fuel smell, cameraderie of jumper friends 24/7 for almost 3 years now. Life would feel so empty without it. Sure I enjoy a lot of other stuff. I'm really into my kids and their sports etc. I love hiking and reading and skiing etc. But without jumping I'd feel lost. Afloat with no direction. I wouldn't be me without it any more. This sport scares me but it also gives me life. The thought of never again having that sense of freedom and self accomplishment I get as I leave a plane at 13,500 feet is unbearable. So I will perservere. I will fight those chicken-hearted wimpy demon thoughts of mine and I will continue to jump. Sorry for rambling on so much but this post just deeply touched me. Knowing that others out there have similar thoughts sometimes helps me greatly. Occasionally I get the feeling that I'm not really a skydiver, just some kind of imposter. I thank you so much for being so open with your feelings, Michele. I'm so glad to hear that you went and had 2 nice jumps yesterday and I look forward to reading about them. Hang in there sister. And please keep sharing with us all. Blue Skies, D

I'm so sorry to hear about your uncle. IMO Titusville should refund your money. Did you even do the classroom part? Was the wind tunnel set up seperately on your own or part of your package with Titusville? If you did the ground school and if they gave you the tunnel time then they should deduct those 2 parts and refund the rest. If you did the tunnel on your own and you didn't even do the classroom part then they should really refund the whole amount. It wasn't as if you changed your mind. Your injury and your family emergency were beyond your control. Its not as if you live around the corner, never mind the same state, so it's not a simple matter of just doing it a few weeks later. By refunding your money they aren't really out anything and would be getting good publicity. It only seems fair to give it back in my mind. I would either call or e-mail the DZO directly and explain it all. I don't think you should even have to settle for them changing it to jump tickets. In this case you should be able to get it back so you can use it to do AFF up in here in MA. Titusville should pay attention to L&B and how much a good reputation means to this small community. Good luck!! Hope to see you at Jumptown sometime! Blue Skies, D

I agree with Stan. Jumptown rocks. Jumpers from BP get together with us sometimes (Thanksgiving, Safety Day) and they seem really great. There are 4 DZs in the area. Check them out below. Jumptown Boston/Providence Skydive New England - Lebanon Pepperell And welcome to Boston!! Blue Skies, D

Congrats, Justin! She's adorable. Best advice I got as a mom was to hold them as often as you want in the beginning. Don't worry about spoiling them when they are babies. Enjoy her! They grow up fast!! Blue Skies, D

Those aren't accurate statistics. Many, many, many more people drive in a car everyday compared to how many skydive. I agree you should leave it to your lawyer. Maybe you could supply him with accurate statistics on skydiving fatalities and all the things you are doing to skydive as safely as possible. Have some info available on how it compares to other activities such as scuba diving. Skydiving is dangerous and anyone who thinks otherwise is being foolish. There are ways of reducing your risks and you should have a list of things you are doing to show you are a responsible, safety conscious skydiver. I don't see how any of this should really fit in with your fitness as a parent. You should be free to pursue your interests as long as it's not illegal or putting your child in danger. Blue Skies, D

I asked the exact same question at the exact same stage that you are at. I did a few tandems and planned on starting AFF and I go so much flack from my boss and a few relatives (aunts, sisters) that I started second guessing myself. My in-laws didn't seem to bad about it until my husband decided to join me. Now we can't even mention it in front of them. Anyway... I decided it was worth it. You don't know what tomorrow may bring so you have to live today. I would rather live a shorter full life than a long life where I never really lived. I do try to be as careful as possible. My husband and I are both very conservative on canopy choices and if the winds get iffy I am one of the first to scratch off the load. I have no problem riding the plane down if weather conditions change. We also don't go on the same load very often ... we like to keep one of us safe on the ground just in case. We've talked with our kids about the risks and explained how we are doing as much as possible to stay safe. I've stopped arguing with those saying I'm not being a good mother. I quietly tell them that I'm sorry they feel that way but that I've given it serious thought and that I don't agree. Then smile and change the subject. Most of the times I feel that I am doing the right thing. Occasionally I'll be sitting at one of my kids' games or comforting them when things go wrong and doubts will cross my mind. I'll think of how much they need me and how much it means to them that I am there. But then I also know that I'm a better mom when I feel fulfilled and happy. I'm a mom but I'm also a woman. I can't stop living my life for 20 years. Plus I think I'm teaching my kids to live and to follow their dreams. So I think if this is something that you really want to do then you should do it. It is more dangerous than most other things you will do but if you love it, it's worth it. Good luck and let us know how AFF goes! If you want to read about my experiences starting out here is my website http:// http://www.geocities.com/tysca66 Oh... and yes you are already a real skydiver. Definitely over that whuffo line!

I took it! I love salt!

A bunch of us go see Jimmy at his Labor Day Weekend Show at Great Woods every year! We always have a blast! If you're going to go you really have to get into it and dress up yourself and your car and bring all kinds of cool stuff for the tailgate party. The parking lot bash is as fun as the concert. Usually we have to pay a fortune for tickets because they sell out in 15 minutes. This year we actually managed to get through online and got 4 great tickets! We're gathering supplies and coming up with cool ideas already! Last year I was pissed though. While we were in the concert someone stole all the stuff off our truck. Fins, parrots, palmtrees, salt shakers etc. were all gone. Blue Skies, D

Good luck to you, William! I can relate as I had ACL reconstruction. I've heard PCL is a little trickier. I just saw this link on my ACL kneeboard site and thought I'd pass it along. http://www.cincinnatisportsmed.com/pkneeb.htm Blue Skies, D

I don't know Barney but had heard about what happened and had been wondering how he was doing. Thanks for the update and I sure hope he continues to improve and does well. He and his family will be in my thoughts. Sending lots of good get well vibes out there! Blue Skies, D

I've had lots of knee injuries and it's always been ice, ice, ibuprofen (800 mg), ice, ice, elevation, ice, ice, compression, ice, ice, rest and did I mention ice?? Hopefully you didn't do any real damage and it will heal on it's own with those things. Did you feel a popping sensation at all? Does your knee feel instable or give out at all? If so, or if you don't see improvement in a few days, you should go get it checked out. Good luck! I hope it's nothing serious. Blue Skies, D

My husband has coverage for us both through work for health insurance and as far as I know it covers skydiving. We usually try not to say our injuries happened while skydiving though. We don't want them to start thinking maybe they shouldn't be covering it. He broke his finger playing softball... ya that was it and I never said how I got up in that tree to begin with. Also when I fell and trashed my knee while painting at the dz I said I did it at home because I was worried they would look towards the airport or dz's insurance for coverage as my insurance made a big deal about _where_ it happened. Our dz is just a club and I didn't want their rates to go up or anything. My husband has life insurance but I don't know if he's covered for skydiving. He had it long before he started jumping so it wasn't something we asked about. Hopefully we'll never have to find out. Blue Skies, D

We have a beer light. I originally thought it was just an "imaginary" one but then once after the sunset load went my 10 year old daughter asked me if she could now turn on the beer light and I found out there was an actual green light! Figures she knew about it! Blue Skies, D

Cool! Look forward to seeing you when you get back. My FJC instructor who is an S&T A at Jumptown is from Rowe. He usually has a pig roast at his place Labor Day weekend. Beautiful little town. He's the principal of the little school there. Great guy. Maybe you know him. See you soon. Good luck with your AFF! Blue Skies, D

That's so cool, Dick! Congrats!! My husband and I both have Infinitys and we love them! Great customer service, too! I remember when I got my new rig and canopies and was a little nervous if they would all work as they were suppose to. It even crossed my mind to have someone else try them out for me (are there lemon rigs like lemon cars??

I live in Massachusetts and jump at Jumptown. Tom did a good job describing all the area DZs. My only additional comment is I consider the bowl landing area at Jumptown to be a PRO not a CON. I love it! It's huge and the sand is thick and can be forgiving when you screw up on landing. I've flared too early and too late and thanked my lucky stars for that sand. A van is waiting to give you a ride to the other side of the runway back to manifest and only takes a few extra minutes. If you have a B license or higher and prefer you can land in the smaller landing area next to manifest. Oh, and we do have an otter this year. Try all 4 Dzs. They're all good. Each have their own personality and different people have different preferences. Welcome to the area! Muenkel... where are you doing AFF? I'll probably see you when you go to Jumptown as we are out there most weekends. I can't jump until July but my husband will be jumping whenever we can get there. Look for us. His name is Bernie and he has a royal blue jumpsuit with red and black and a red infinity rig. Same with you, Chrome, if you make it out there and I hope you do. Blue Skies, D