RhondaLea

There's something seriously wrong with you, and you need to see a doctor right away. If you think squirrel meat tastes good, you must have flesh-eating bacteria-infested taste buds. Gah! Gak! Gag! I grew up in a household where hunting and fishing were a way of life. I don't much like the taste of game, but after the first time my father brought home a squirrel, my normally-tolerant mother drew the line. I need to go puke now. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

If I can get her to send me pictures regularly, I will post them progress. If not, you can flood her with email demands (beckz70018@aol.com) and late night phone calls. She's a dz kid--she can take it. She's also a big girl now, and she no longer obeys when I send her to her room. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Hey Walt! I got the squirrel DVD, and I laughed my ass off. Thank you. Here's a picture of my daughter's brand new baby squirrel. Right now, the baby is on a bottle only, and s/he screams in the way only a squirrel can when hungry. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I'm saving. Saving to buy you some plastic surgery for all those nasty hook scars in your cheek. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I know you're asking him, but my advice is that each letter should have a different style. No one ever reads the boilerplate. If Mr. Hite gets 100 letters that all sound the same, he's not going to bother to read each one. If you change the perspective slightly in each letter, the "BASE lobby" will appear bigger than it really is. More important, for a little more punch, the letters need to go to others besides Hite. Copies should be sent to all interested entities and individuals. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

No. Not age. Everyone gets old. Proverbs 4:5-7 rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

What's the actual condition of her paw, Walt? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

The tail looks to me like it tapers to a point, and what you're seeing appears to be ground debris. But John couldn't have missed the tail from where he was standing, so... John? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I can't wait to see your reply to Jimmy's post. Please, please, please take him as seriously as you did me. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Guess that depends on how hungry you are... Edited to add: ...and exactly what kind of sammich it is. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Actually, your problem appear to be that you don't realise that when you are in a hole, you should stop digging. Your railing against being called selfish whilst hijacking a condolence thread to trumpet what a great parent you are is the perfect example of self obsessed selfishness. Actually... ...that's not what happened. I don't agree with her position, but her first post was one of condolence and reflection. It was not offensive, and it was very much on topic. What happened after that is the bastard child of criticism and defensiveness. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

It is obvious from your post that your first instructors failed in their mission and that the underlying culture of parachuting has been irretrivably lost in your neck of the woods. First of all, you should have plenty of time for yourself, because you each should be jumping with others--I believe the bumper sticker says: "Just because I slept with you last night doesn't mean I'll jump with you in the morning." Second and more important, you should have more money not less, because skydivers, who up until recently have mostly all been men, have a traditional knack for getting their women to pay for everything, not just their jumps. Finally, if the above is true of skydivers, it is even more true of base jumpers. Your mentor needs a spanking for not teaching this as the first lesson. I don't know what's going on out there in the world today, but you are clearly doing something wrong if this is not your experience. Sincerely, rl (who figures this thread was toast from the outset) If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

That's just because you're a guy. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

My best guess is genus Nerodia--water snake. Did you happen to get a look at its face? If it had heat pits, I'm wrong, but the snake--taken as a whole--does not look like a viper to me, particularly in the shape of the head. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Ahhh, yes, RL, I also remember.

Do you know how many bingo markers with your name were sold this weekend?

I don't think you do. I'm a mother, and my daughter was 11 when I started skydiving. I wasn't even off student status when she saw a guy femur in. And then our friends...they started goin' down like flies. Luckily enough, she didn't see a fatality until she was sixteen. He was a friend of hers, and she watched him die. Your profile says you have six jumps. Maybe that's wrong. And even if it isn't, maybe you've seen a bad accident or a fatality. But I'm betting that you haven't, and I'm also betting that you don't really understand all the way to the core of you that you can, and possibly will, die in this sport. I had my daughter's future planned out if I bounced. Or maybe I just thought I did--but at least I'd made the necessary arrangements for her safety and well-being if things went wrong. Have you? rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Really? Isnt the safety of your students THE most important part? What if the student is a risk to him-/herself and (possibly) to others? Wouldnt your responsibility as a teacher not be more important than the desire of the student to jump, no matter how enthusiastic he/she is? Please do not take this as me saying that you are unresponsible (I am not in a position to judge this), I am just curious. Bozo wasn't one of her instructors. I do, however, know one of her instructors, and he has had very good success working with "problem" students. He is highly empathic, very kind, and a very good teacher. He has years in the sport and thousands and thousands of jumps. He's one of the best people I've ever met in skydiving. If everyone had been on the same page, it wouldn't have ended the way it did, but there were too many people involved--and everyone had a different idea about what Rita should do. In the end, if you have a shitload of eminently qualified and extremely experienced people telling you very different things...what do you do? Especially when you believe the naysayers are judging you on things that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

How do you know that? Because he knew her. Because she never gave up. Because in spite of what you all see as ego and cockiness, she was neither egotistical nor cocky. She was one of those people who put a brave face on failure, got up and kept fighting. You have no idea the magnitude of the obstacles she faced, but face them she did. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

It's easy, I suppose...in retrospect and in light of the apparent spin of the book...to look at Rita this way, but what's being posted right now reflects a lack of empathy, as well as a lack of knowledge. To really make it clear would require writing things that I would never post on a public board, but maybe this will help. She was on the outside looking in, and she desperately wanted in. She was terrified of jumping, but she wanted it so much that she forced herself to continue. She had two weapons, one being her intellectual gifts--she was actually quite bright--and the other being her sense of humor. If anyone really took seriously her posts about her tandem masters buns...well...you didn't know her at all. There were well-meaning people who saw all this--unflagging humor (often self-deprecating) in the face of unrelenting terror--and they tried to help her. I know one of the jumpmasters who graduated her, and he didn't do it because he thought she was cocky. People make a lot of her last crash-landing, but there's more to that than meets the eye too. Rita jumped because she needed to jump--not unlike most of the rest of you. And failing that, she immersed herself in the writing of the book. It is easy for vague recollections to take on a different meaning over time, but I think these posts reflect an unwarranted unfairness toward what Rita tried to do. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Possibly "father of light"...depending on the name from which it's derived. If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Specifically, it talks about '97 and '98. This was '97: A stroll down memory lane If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

I was going to PM this, but since the thread is miserable anyway... It Don't Bring You (Mary Chapin Carpenter) Well I know it ain't been roses lately, baby, it's just been thorns And no matter what we do, nothing seems to change Love has always been my shelter, for you it's been a storm But for a while I thought we'd almost beat the rain Now there's a hole here in my pocket where all my dreams have gone Fallen out like so many nickels and dimes And last of all you, you'd always been my good luck charm I should've known that luck's a waste of time 'Cause it don't bring you love if you don't love And it don't bring you time if you ain't got time And it don't bring you strength, baby, if you ain't strong And it don't bring you kindness if you ain't kind Now there's a whole lot of life to be unsure of But there's one thing I can safely say I know That of all the things that finally desert us Pride is always the last thing to go But it won't bring you love if you don't love And it won't bring you time if you ain't got time And it won't bring you strength, baby, if you ain't strong And it won't bring you kindness if you ain't kind And now I wish you only roses, baby, without the thorns And I hope your dreams are always within reach And I wish you shelter, baby, from all your storms They scared you, but they never seemed to teach That I can't bring you love if you don't love And I can't bring you time if you ain't got time And I can't bring you strength, baby, if you ain't strong And I can't bring you kindness if you ain't kind And I can't bring you kindness if you ain't kind If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Gak! I've very glad you're okay. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

Baby (see my avatar) had her own pet squirrel where we used to live. She would chase, the squirrel would climb, she would follow until the squirrel got too high in the tree. The the squirrel would turn around and chastise her. It was a hoot. Always bet on the squirrel. The cat doesn't have a chance. rl If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb