squirks

His willingness to be helpful to everyone will be what always sticks out in my mind. He loaned me money once to start a business (that never took off). It took me years to repay him and he never once said a cross word to me about how long it was taking. I learned a great deal from him about giving.

I got a good chuckle out of this.

I will be talking to her in the next few days and will get her to send me what she has. BIG thanks for taking some pictures, I appreciate it!! Off topic, how do I get a photo on my profile?? Maybe someone can PM me? C

Gary grounded me back in the 60's for trying to make a shortcut to China through the Elsinore DZ. I would say I am alive and jumping today because of that grounding. So, to Gary I say," Thanks Red". *** I heard a lot this past weekend about "grounding" and since I'm so new here I have no idea what that means!! I really always wanted to jump WITH Uncle Gary, so my jump was bittersweet. The hour or so leading up tp my jump I almost couldn't talk to anyone, I kept tearing up.

Thanks for posting the two pictures! I have some on my camera that I'll have to wait to download until my husband brings our laptop home. -c

Thank you!! I am definitely interested in going again!!

...who knows how many more to go!! My uncle would be so proud - I made my first ever jump at his memorial service over this past weekend at Skydive Elsinore. Surrounded by his lifelong friends and my mom and aunt I paid my respects, said my final goodbye and opened up the door to a whole new world. I can't believe I waited so long. It was a truly amazing experience and I'm grateful to those who made it so incredibly memorable and special. Barry Lastinger, thanks for giving me the final gentle push and for helping get the ball moving. CJ Quick, thank you for capturing it all on video, I can't stop watching. Mark Guinto, for being the one to get me safely to the ground, for understanding how much this jump meant to me. Carlee

I was able to attend my Uncle Gary's memorial service on the 14th. Thank you all for putting so much time and effort into making the event unforgettable. You are all so kind, and so generous and so welcoming - I'm glad to know that my uncle's world had you in it. As some of you who attended are aware, I jumped for my first time on Saturday. I absolutely loved it, and am so grateful for the opportunity to honor my uncle by doing what he loved, surrounded by the people he loved. As I jumped, the sky was clear and the sun was just starting to go behind the mountains. It really couldn't have been a more perfect day. I was able to say my final goodbye to my uncle as I opened the door to a world that I had only dreamt of before then. I'm still walking on a foot of clouds. Carlee Ojeda