RhondaLea

Sure it should. Of course it does. It was Shannon. I still can't breathe. And now I can't swallow either. And I still want to tear the house apart. rl

I've always known it could happen to me, what I'm having a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around right now is it happening to the people I care about. The people you care about would feel the same way you feel right now if it happened to you. It's not only important to be very careful and to treat this sport with the utmost respect because it can kill you. It's also important because of the broken hearts you will leave behind. I know. Me too. I owe you for the time I knew her, Ted. Shannon was a blessing and a gift, and I'm grateful for the time we were friends. I just wish it had been longer. rl

Y'know, of all the people I know, I think you have the longest list of dead friends. I used to wonder how you stood it. Now I wonder how many of us are turning into you. I have been around long enough to remember a time when base was considered extremely dangerous. Now it seems like everyone and his brother--and his sister too--is "into base." I don't quite know how that happened, but I think I've reached the limit of my personal "fatality threshhold." It's going to get worse before it gets better, because there are a lot of folks out there who just can't quite wrap their minds around the idea that it really can happen to them. Take care of yourself, Avery. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

This weekend was his birthday gift to her. She was so excited about it because he'd never seen her jump before. I feel like tearing the house apart. I have lost more friends in this sport than I care to think about, but this is as bad as it gets. rl

Her birthday is the 6th of June, and I've been counting off the days for weeks. I can't breathe. rl

Betsy, you said a mouthful. rl

Dear Andrew, Thank you. It's good to get the important news, especially when it's good news, relatively speaking. I had to laugh when I read: "...has been communicating quite effectively..." and "...while having detailed conversations in his room about some pretty technical stuff..." He has given me some of the best debates I've had in the time I've been on dz.com, and it is very reassuring to hear that the analytical part of his personality isn't taking a break even in this situation. Is there anything he or his wife needs? Please let me know. Thank you again for your post. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I don't know how alienating it is, but it might be better placed in the Incidents forum. Then again, maybe not. But you might want to wait until he's well again to give him shit for it. Timing is everything. It's one thing to report what happened, but quite another to go all judgmental--ranting never made anything better. I keep hoping for a report from someone who actually knows exactly how Jason is doing. He's a great guy, and it's hard to sit here wondering how he is. One of the great comforts when Matt got hurt is that there were folks who went out of their way to let everyone know his progress. The above is intended to be a whole lot more blatant than a mere hint. Heal fast, Jason. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

It's onaccountabecause® they all went stumbling. :) Besides, I just abandoned y'all, so I deserve to be punished. ;) rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I use Firefox. I haven't added it to IE yet, but I that you can use IE in what passes for a FAQ. Hang on... http://www.stumbleupon.com/get_ie.html There ya go. :) rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

In the last few days, I've spent all my time roaming around the web using this tool. I can't believe how much I've been missing--it's more fun than the ordinary time-waster should be allowed to have. The bad news is that it only works for IE and Firefox, so if you're using another browser, you're out of luck. The privacy policy is reasonable, and I've received no spam. It contains no spyware. All in all, I love it. www.stumbleupon.com rl P.S. There is a checkbox for skydiving, but the only page I've received so far is www.theworldteam.com. I checked, however, and dropzone.com has been stumbled by about twenty people without a single thumbs down. P.P.S. This should keep Jef busy until I get a chance to write him a PM. ;) If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

People burn their bridges when they believe there is nothing further to gain from those with whom they're cutting a connection. Sometimes it's because they're young, stupid and angry. Others times, it's because they're just wholly self-centered, and they believe that others are useless unless they have an immediate use for them. And finally, sometimes bridges need to be burned, because sometimes those with whom one is connected are toxic. But most intelligent adults realize that it's better to go out quietly than with a bang. Good luck, Bobbie. If you need someone beat up, let me know. rl

Looks like Dave beat you to it. rl

I'm just wondering when all these guys are going to wake up and realize who "Tom" is. I suppose he's too busy celebrating his first birthday as a daddy to bother weighing in with an opinion about how it feels to be another year older. ;) rl

Happy Birthday Tom and Skin. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

It would certainly be handy. rl

Evidentally, you forgot to wear your glasses. Not many describe my big balding self as "cute." I don't wear glasses, and you're adorable. Too bad you have a wonderful wife and darling children. I said it, it must be true. Well, it turns out that she wasn't being a klutz, so I owe her an apology. The rack got caught on something when she tried to move it. They're not very stable to begin with, and it just went over. If she were really klutzy, it would be a facial burn, not an arm burn. She went back to the emergency room on Friday, and the doctor said, "No work until Monday." So she went in today, and she was in agony, so the store manager sent her to a different doctor, and he gave her a prescription burn medication, a tetanus shot and more percoset. It was some burn. rl

And I would visit you, but you have to answer my email first. rl P.S. to Carrie et al.: I hope you're keeping GTA well-tortured while I'm gone. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Bite me, Chris. Note to Shannon: I owe you a PM, but it's a long one (in my head), and I can't quite get it to the fingertips. As for Beck--workers comp requires you to be out for 8 days. It'll pay her medical bills, but she's lost the time unless she can convince them to...well...it's like this: She just got over pneumonia (and before that, she'd just gotten over tonsilitis), so she was out for two weeks. She'd only been back about two days when this happened. One of her co-workers got comp for mono, so she's going to give it a whirl. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Geochelone sulcata, the largest mainland tortoise. If Nick takes good care of him, he'll get to be nearly as big as an Aldabra. Note to Nick: Beck talked to her dad; he says more cantaloupe and romaine, less timothy hay. But you're doing something very right because Dusty is a beautiful tortoise. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Actually... ...I'm not lurking. I get an email when someone sends me a PM, so I log on eventually to answer it, and when something interesting comes up, I log on to check it out. I just can't seem to get motivated to do any real postwhoring. I've been trying to learn (vs. just use) Windows XP, so (this is for you, Jef) I'm not posting about sex anywhere at all. Mostly I'm just trying (and deleting) a lot of software and tweaking my settings. I created a blog a couple of years ago, and I've never gotten beyond titling it and setting up the format, but I'm writing posts in my head more and more often, so I suspect that's the next thing I'm going to do. ...except I really need to get a job. I saw micro the other day--we had planned to have dinner, but Beck got burned at work (2nd degree on the inside of elbow), so I just drove to Willow Grove, said hi and bye (well, we talked for about 30 minutes) and drove back. (Beck is fine, although she's in pain and it has cost her four days of work.) For those who have never met him, micro is as cute as a bug's ear. I miss you guys (gender neutral). I really do. I just don't have a whole lot of postwhoring in me right now. rl

I logged on just for this. :) Happy Birthday, JP. rl

You're getting a lot of interesting responses, but here's mine: You skydive, right? What happens if you bounce and hit someone on the dropzone? Not all the folks on all dropzones are skydivers--some are spectators or they have other business to do. And dropzones are usually on public airports, so what if the spot was bad, and you land on a student pilot? Or maybe you fall into the prop of an airplane taking off or landing? Not likely, right? It's less likely that Jeb would've mal'd on that jump than you will do any of the above. Your position is ill-thought because it means the end of all parachute jumping, not just base from a city building. Finally, I don't think a base jumper has ever killed a bystander, but skydivers surely have. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Something smells funny here. Odd, isn't it, that even as a media "has been" , Jeb apparently has enough cachet to hire Mel Sachs. OTOH...one of my ex-boss' law school buddies agreed (with much enthusiasm) to represent (gratis) Thor Alex just because it was such a cool case. It turned out to be unnecessary--everything was pretty well resolved before Tim could even get into Riker's to see him, but this is the kind of case that criminal lawyers love. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

As long as you don't feel stupid, it makes no difference, except to the extent that you are wrong in the motivation you attribute to me. I am implying nothing. I will state, however, that Miles has been the subject of much controversy. What you do is not your reputation. What people think about you and say about you is your reputation. Reputation is defined as "the general estimation in which a person is held by the public." Do a search in these forums for Miles, and see what comes up. By the definition above, his reputation in this community is not sterling, regardless of how much you like and admire him. What you have missed now in each of these posts is that I made no judgment of my own, except as to Miles' enthusiasm and the fact that he had gone a long way to repair the general public estimation of him (i.e., "redeem his reputation"). That was all. You obviously have an ax to grind, but I am not a whetstone, so do it elsewhere. In other words, don't put words in my mouth and don't attribute to me thoughts that I have not expressed. Now, you can feel free to hijack this thread one more time for the purpose of defending Miles from...nothing, but having answered each of your posts, I'm now done. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb