froggie

josh, id like to hear that really long original reply, if youre ready to share it.... Hey, were friends, and thats what friends are for right? to be there for you when youve got something to say, no matter if its something little or something heavy. youve got the email, but just in case flyingfrog5@rcn.com kel

(almost perfectly) clear blue skys, sun shining brightly, nice and comfortable temps in the hanger, and 4 hours at the dz without a jump today :( darned winds were a bit weird today, and the dz wasnt that busy. But its okay, worked on my packing skills (or lack therefore of :) , practiced my procedures, all that good stuff. Hey, the days are getting longer, the sun is shining brighter, and the temperatures are getting warmer.... lots more perfect jumping days to come.. No worries. :) froggie

thats funny. My cousin was just admiring a playboy yesterday. thank god he was just admiring it and not 'worshiping' it. lol. now i gotta find out a way to get a peek at that article w/out all his friends going crazy cause theres a chick reading a playboy. lol. oh man, what a mission i have now. froggie

whooo heee! Jumpergirl,stacy, PLFxpert, pammi, sis, divadiver,skybitch, Tigra, skymama, jessica, freeflyplaymate, zelda and all the other chicks here (sorry if i forgot any chicks)... we got another woman posting! whooooo heee! our numbers are slowely icreasing! yipee! welcome rodeochick! froggie

im gonna say a tennis ball..outsides skinned off, set against a dark background, and microsopic view of it too . yeah right, i think this is one that stumps the frog detective. darn

oh! the frog is sooo cute! funny poem too :)

oh! just got this off his webiste.... "Have a really good lead on a new show that I might be hosting. I am stoked on the concept. I would still have to do a few gnarly things, but they would have a different purpose and would keep things fresh." so it looks like our crazy skydiver buddy is still up there doing some wacked out stuff! cool.

okay. froggie has been found. she is here w/ what she can contribuate to this question... a few months back MTV had to decide whether to keep sensless or not. I guess it was time to negotiate another season. As it seems to appear, the MTV execs arent really supporting another season because of liablility. Its being said that they dont want the hassles of being sued for people trying the stunts. To quote troy "MTV just doesn't understand what is real programming and what is real crap." So it sounds like their trying to cancel the show because of low ratings too. Theyde rather have dumb ass shows on there, like Jack Ass and shows that promote group sex/ no self respect like Undressed. In any case, troy said that he is recievinng offers from other channels for shows similar to Sensless. He does plan on moving on, if the mtv thing doesnt work out. But we can almost certainly be gaurenteed a newer version of Sensless from a better network. I have no idea whats going on right now. but youll all have me wondering so ill be droppin him an Email soon. Ill let you guys know what comes of that. his website is http:// troyhartman.com you can also find a link via yahoo at http:// http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/troyhartman i dont know much about the yahoo chat, havent really been able to check it out. maybe MTV.com has something about it? not sure. Hope this helps .... froggie

pammi, thanks. youve been really supportive of me lately. and i greatly appreciate that. hugs to you too! Sis, thanks for the thoughts. Just do me a favor and give my cousin a little wave next time your riding the plane to alti. Id really appreciate that. zennie, what you said is so true. I may have only flown a few times but ive loved every second of it. Havent lived like i do when im up there, and i cant wait to truely lived many times over. And youre right, too many people only dream of dancing in the clouds. Even if for them, dancing would be going back to college, learning to read and write, just as long as their doing something. We all have dreams. and we all have things that better ourselves. I just wish that everyone could find that one piece that makes the puzzle complete. For us its skydiving, for others its raising animals, flying planes, helping people, whatever. Just wishing everyone thier missing link Jessica, thanks. Today wasnt as hard as i expected it to be.. not until i was finally alone, with nobody around. Then it hit me. but now its okay. its just knowing that exactly one year ago today i was first hearing this dreaded news.... Thats what makes it so hard. I wont remember if i was totally upset on X day during X month, but this whole week I remember exactly what i went thru last year at this very moment. And i think thats what makes anniversarys so hard to deal with. The knowledge of where you were mentally, emotionally, physically. But this week will pass, and i will make it thru. Stronger than before, gaurentteed. MikeD I dont know what to say except thankyou and what you posted was just absolutely heart touching. albatross, :) thats me smiling cause im living life, just like all of you guys are too. Thankyou for being my real friend, you may be virtual to me, but youre still a friend. You all are, and i cant explain how greatful i am for that. To everyone else who read this thread but didnt post..... thankyou for reading. I hope what everyone has said here will one day help your family and friends understand this passion you all have. thanks all, froggie

wmblaine, yeah, troy lived. It was a stunt he did for MTVs show Senseless acts of video. A dangerous stunt, but still a purposely planned out event. froggie

if i could do anything today.... i know that this is supposed to exclude skydiving but i cant help it :) Today we went to the *site*. a lot of my family, and a lot of my cousins friends. As i stood out there , in the middle of nowhere, with vast amounts of woods surrounding me all I could do was stare up at the cross we put on the tree, and look at the sky beyond. I would have loved to been able to make a jump today. the weather was warm, the clouds were there, but so were the vast amounts of open blue sky. I wanted to be up there jumping. Not for me, but for my cousin. Just to let him know that Ive learned a lot of things from his death, amongst those things that i have learned i have learned how important it is to live life to its fullest. I wanted nothing more than to be 12,500 feet closer to him, able to fly on my back and wave like crazy to him, yelling in joy the entire way down. im not ready to fly like that yet, and maybe that was better. this being the first anniversary my family needed me more than i needed me. But next year, you can be gaurenteed that ill be on every load possible, trying to get closer and closer to him. so thats what i wished i was doing today. Ask me this again in 365 days, maybe ill have my wish. froggie

well, its 3:58 am and im sitting here, tryign to prepare for an emotionally draining day today... You see, this is the first anniversary of my cousins death. He was killed while riding an ATV 3 wheeler. He was just beginnig to learn, and was starting to follow in his brothers footsteps. He wanted to do this, he had played around with it before. It was just a freak thing that he died doing it. Im not posting this to get all types of 'im sorry!' from you guys. im posting this because ive lost somebody i cherished greatly, and loved deeply, somebody that i considered a very close friend, a person that i shared my stuffed animals w/ as kids, and camped out with all my life. I lost my cousin ,and it does still hurt. But he was doing something taht he was just beginning to develope a passion for, and that comforts me in an odd way. I know that he was having an amazing day, i know that he was doing really good for the most part. He was with freinds and family ,and thats all that really matters isnt it? It did keep me from riding for a few months, but soon i felt the urge to get out there on the Grizzly 500 and beat those trails down. I did go out to the ORVP with no plans on riding. I think i was there for maybe 2 hours before i was cruising around, burning up the trails. Now i can go out to the track and ride my ass off. the sound of the dirtbikes zipping by, the buggies revving thier engines up, and the quads going by still excites me. So next time your whuffo loved one makes a comment about "loosing you to a stupid skydiving accident!" tell them that youre doing everything you can do to be safe, but if it ever does occur, you know that they wiill be comforted that you died living your life, because not everybody does that. I didnt ask for my cousin to die, and i certainly didnt want it. and the times since have been really hard to deal with, but the one thing that comforts me is the understanding.. the understanding of what being passionate about something is all about. he understood that, and i understand that more and more every day. whether im gearing up or climbing into a mangled car, hanging in a harness up high in a tree, or in swimming in frozen waters, Im challenging myself. If i die trying to save somebody elses life, or died from a bad skydive, then im glad that at least i went down doing something i love. I feel enlightened. I love my cousin dearly, and i know that hes around here somewhere, telling all the other souls up there to check his crazy ass cousin out, shes jumping outta planes for fun, running the trails at the ORVP, rock climbing (only once) taking rope rescue courses and ice water rescue courses.... shes living her life, and exceding the norm. I gotta live my life, not just for myslef, but for my cousin too. Hed want that, he was just that type of a person. by the way, next time youre riding to altitude, give my cousin a little wave, say hello to stevie. I always do. it puts a smile on his eternal face. :), and blesses my skydives. Do what you love, because youre life can only be lived by you! froggie

jason, anything for you sweetie.. anything for you. (remember all, hes a married man :)

congrats! feels good huh?

hehe. youre gonna fit right in! lol . we like beer. beer is our friend :) welcome to the threads! Im kelly, just one person who will soon come to be a part of your extending family :) now tell us a little about yourself. froggie

In regards to the article posted on the main page.... the 'victem' states that she did not feel it was safe to jump. So why did she jump? To please the more expereinced jumpers? Thats not cool. If i was her (and i have been!) i would have stayed on the ground. We all have limits, and being relatively new to this sport (she has -30 jumps at the time?) we need to recognize these limits and maybe push them up a little, give ourselves limits that are a little too limited. Maybe we could jump in certain winds. but do we really want to find out what would happen if something went wrong? No, wed rather be here to make another skydive tomorrow, not burn in today. If i was depending on a radio transmittion to determine that i should perhaps ride the plane down, then i dont want to be on that plane ready to jump. If youre not comfortable getting in the door, let alone riding the plane up, then you shouldnt be jumping that day. Its all about mental preperation, and not being able to concetrate on the upcoming jump is not getting mentally prepped! I dont know, i just feel that this woman failed to listen to herself, and i think that was her most serious mistake. I understand that this was not an ordinary fun jump, it was a publicity stunt. And im sure that there are added pressures to that situation, pressures to just go ahead and jump. But honestly, i love my dz, and i adore my DZO... I wouldnt want to do anything that might bring bad publicity to the dz or dzo. whats okay for you to jump in (winds) might not be okay for me to jump in. And thats what makes this sport what it is... all the different 'levels' you move on to. IF we were all equal and on the same ability level, then there would be no advancing, no moving up. And that wouldnt work for us fun seeking, challenge needing adventurists. ITs one thing to take advice, and listen to the more experienced jumpers. But what good is that advice if it means youre not sure how youll walk away (or if you will walk away?) Go ahead, listen, learn and absorb all the advice in the world, but remember that these people are more experienced than you are. And you must recognize your own limits, and not confuse theirs with yours. I admire the really seasoned jumpers at my dz, and its this admiration that allows me to stay on the ground in winds that i find too challengeing or unstable for my liking. I personally feel good when I know that these teachers, these people i admire see that i am doing everything in my power to be a safe skydiver. I dont want to be seen as a unnessisary risk taker. The learning that takes place when you pass up on the load call is sometimes greater than the learning that takes place in freefall/under canopy. I might be totally out of line here, but I think the moral of this story is : depend on your own judgements. were all taught that we are the sole person responsible for our own skydives. we make the final descisions, and we must live with the consequences of those desicions. There is a desire to challege ourselfs, but like downsizing your canopy, it must come in time. Before we can move on and advance we must be secure in our abilities at the basics of skydiving. I hope that her abiities to walk and function normally develope further. to be born w/ a disease is one thing, to loose out on what you could do BEFORE is another. I imagine that shes got tremendous strength and a great emotional connection to herself. Its quite a feat when people deal w/ the loss of abilities that they took for granted before. Well wishes on her further recovery. I apoligize for dragging on for so long, but this topic started a fire inside of my brain. I have no plans on burning in, but if it does happen you can almost be certain that its because of some freak accident, not bad judgement. We all make mistakes, but the lesson that I learned when i ignored my health last weekend and decided to jump is similar to the lesson that she learned that day. Only difference is, i landed safely, she didnt. WE all make bad desicions once in a while, but lets just hope that more people can be lucky like i was, and walk away safely. I could have just as easily had a major problem like she did, because i failed to use good judgement when deciding whether to make that NOW CALL. I dont regret my desicion to jump, because of the lessons that its taught me. And after watching people fight like crazy to get thier canopies to collapse after landing, i realize that the wind is a powerful thing, and somethign that im not ready to tackle yet. Ill leave that to the skilled skydivers..... go ahead, i know that im going to hear it for this post. froggie

jason, thanks for the get well wishes. Its FINALLY starting to go away. 2+ weeks w/ the same cold. i was getting sick of it. Now im finally healthy enough to jump again. WHOO HEE! now if only the clouds would break, the rain would head out over the ocean, and the winds would remain calm.... froggie

YEAHHHHH!!!! now i just have to forget about the tees. this way im totallly surprised when it does come. :) Hey sis, this means that were partners in the whole fighting evil thing .... we gotta get together and kick some major ass :) lol. cant wait to see the tees wingi, ill make sure and ask stacy to snap a few pics for ya. froggie

almost forgot.... dont let this lesson cost you $165.00 like it did me. The jump sucked majorly. I didnt even want to be in freefall to be honest w/ you. it was just way to unpleasant. One little issue arises and it really screws up your mental preparation. Being students, we need all the normalness that a regular jump offers, little differences become big problems very quickly. froggie

lazerq3, man dont do it! i was in the same position as you when i did that really horrible jump last week... Think about it. I was well enough to go to school on friday, run ambulance duty for 12 hours friday into saturday, take a class friday night between calls. I was well enough to be outside all day long on saturday in rain and cold temps while doing the rope/tree rescue drill. I was well enough to go out saturday nite. And i was well enough to hang out at the dz all day sunday. So why wasnt i well enough to safely jump? Because there are other issues. the change in temp at altitude, the high winds... Not to mention the fact that its winter and i had on a helmet and goggles, not to mention two pairs of gloves. And to get really nasty about it.. since i couldnt blow my nose (combination of goggles helmet and clumbsiness in the gloves) I didnt want to use my sleeve to wipe my nose (how many other students have do that ? my point exactly) Trust me, save youreself the money. Dont jump, cause it wont go well. Go out to the dz anyway, use this weekend to practice your procedures. talk to really experienced jumpers. Let this weekend be your listening/learning/ obsorbing weekend. dont jump, cause the chances of it being a shitty jump are too high. just my .02 cents, and a little bit of my experience too. froggie

josh, a link just for you.... http:// http://www.funinbc.com/skydive/skydive.htm ENJOY! froggie

good news. i cant believe i forgot to post it.... i talked to John and he told me that the ambulance squad has full use of the facilities any tuesday nite we want (our drill night). So after talkign to the rescue captain its been decided that we are going to do some high rescue drills... rooftop rescues. work on the roof of the hanger! i love EMS. It lets me do these things that I would never be able to do any other time. And ive also talked to john, and other jumpers, and we all feel that a drill is needed on stabilization of a parachutist. I want my squad to be familiar w/ rigs, so that unneccisary 'cutting' doesnt happen. I just want to familiarize them w/ how to safely, quickly and efficently remove a rig w/ out cutting it away. But sometimes cutting it is needed. Thse are all really good ideas Karen. I esp. like the concentration on medical emergencies. Thats what will occur more i believe. And its good to have the staff familiar w/ those emergencies so that at least they can recognize what the emergency is, even if they can only perform minimal care. No more ideas from me, anybody else? kelly

ohhhhhhh you know i couldnt leave that one alone. Im laughing but feel that a fun spirited war must be started over this little tidbit of a joke. :) hehe. I cant stop smiling, but i want to post back w/ some smart ass comment. Im at a loss for words! Mike, youve ruined me. Ive never been speechless before. lol. oh man, i will never be the same again :( lol froggie

grumble grumble. he better be coming to the east coast too! Remember wingi, visit to friends in PA, trip down to Xkeys to see me and stacy. A visit from grogs... A nakie jump (you!) Dont forget about your east coast buddies! froggie

wohhhhhhheeeeeeeee! CONGRATS! YEAHHHH! 3 CHEERS FOR ZENNIE!!!!