dove

I'm on my 2nd Z-1. I used to tighten my first one up so much I was teased that I was gonna cut circulation off to my head. But a friend lost hers on a hard opening so I was paranoid about losing mine. Never had a problem until that midair collision I had last August. Someone slammed into me while freeflying (broke 2 ribs among other injuries) and when he hit me it was hard enough to knock my helmet off my head, which in turn cause me to bite my tongue almost completely off. I got a replacement Z-1 but only wore it twice since on the second jump the elastic broke... so I did a hop n pop. I called for a replacement elastic and it arrived 4 months later... incidentally the day I broke my leg! But I am now so addicted to my bonehead I wouldn't use it unless I was belly flying anyhow. Not much of a confidence booster to always be worried yer gonna lose your expensive helmet with your even more expensive protrack (yes, I lost mine on that fateful day)!

23.5% Life is GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!! lovedove

My leg was hollering at me last night so I couldn't sleep and got up to surf around here a bit. I have to say I was none too pleased on this one! Scared the heeby jeebies out of me! But I went to revisit it today just for jollies. I have to admit this is quite funny.... IN RETROSPECT!!!!!!!!!! quaking dove

Nathan, At the risk of sounding totally mushy... we are all family. I am saddened every time we lose another member of our skydiving family. But I was especially moved when Peter Tome lost his life at Delmarva last year. I didn't know him, but it was my home dz and somehow felt so much more personal and REAL. I cried a lot and prayed a lot. I was supposed to be there that day (Sunday) but left on Saturday with all my overnight stuff after an instructor creamed in and had to be taken away by paramedics. We are always sad to have lost em but glad to have known em and thankful they died doing something that made their soul soar. dove

Hey Emmie... how often do you see the manifestors at your dz jump? Yeah - I didn't think so! Your job may suck, but at least you get 2 days off a week (assuming...) to jump. Whoppeeee!!!!!!!! dove

Ever notice that when you owe they cash your check before it even seems possible that is had arrived and when they owe you it takes forever? Since I always owe (self-employed) I file on April 15th.

You GO, Diva!!!!!!! But put that nastiness in a plastic baggy! Ewwwwwwwww!!!!!!! dove

Wildblue - you lucky dog! You only have 3 weekends left?!?!?! Awesome, brother! You HAVE to make a jump for me when you get back! I know that you, if anyone, will be gentle on my leg if you make a jump for me. ;o) I have 6 more weeks until I can even touch down on my leg and then I have to learn to walk on it. I go in for my first set of follow-up xrays tomorrow. Wish me luck. I have all my fingers and toes and hairs crossed. Mel - yesterday was SUPER hard for me. I've been out of town for several weeks and flying home to Tampa yesterday was BRUTAL! The gorgeous fluffy cumulus clouds were calling out to me and I so wanted to ask the pilot to "just drop me off here!" I keep getting these evil thoughts in my head like "OK, if I just land on my ass I can make a jump now..... "(Yeah - and break my tailbone) or "hitch my leg up and land on my right leg...." (nice and have 2 broken legs... good idea) But, God, it is SOOOOOOOOOO tempting! So I know how you feel. But smile - spring is here and you have 2 good legs and you've been saving up jump money for 2 weeks now so you are gonna kick some serious skydiving ass next chance you get! dove

Oh... something always there.... the flush lever on the toilet?

Worst for me was a clearly dirty pair of men's underwear at the foot of my bed. My toes "found" it. I was immediately moved to the penthouse suite and brought whatever food my heart desired. dove

Bill, Thank you so much! Great explanation, as usual. You da man! dove

Oh God...BOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jump, pack, sex. Jump, pack, sex. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........

Oh yeah, baby! Swoop, swoop a doop!!!!! Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!! Heal leg, HEAL!!!!!!! I can't wait to swoop... but I will. I'm gonna ease my sweet tibia back in with some nice tiptoes and then when she is fully healed, we'll play..... :) dove

I check my gear before I put it on, self-check in the loading area, and always get another pair of eyes to check it before I jump out the door (and I always appreciate if someone isn't comfortable giving a gear check and tells me to ask someone else). I give visual checks to everyone in my line of vision and only touch others' gear if they ask or if I notice something awry and get their ok to check it. Question for Billvon.... I know I SHOULD know this and you probably can't give a great explanation with no visuals, but how would I know by looking that an RSL is misrouted? Thanks! dove

Single... well, almost. My "altitude induced divorce" will be final in May... the same month I get to walk again. Ah, liberty! And yes, bjs are a wonderful thing for everyone involved! And even more fun with that new-fangled diagonal scar I have across my tongue for extra fun and texture! ;o) dove

I bought a heatwave with 400 jumps on it and it flies like a dream! Zero P is Zero P. Can't wait to get back on it! Only 9 more weeks.... heal, baby, heal! dove

I totally agree with freedom of choice. However, I always wear a helmet. Even if I am pulling high. Why? I have a friend who was virtually scalped when the plane crashed at the end of the runway. He was lucky to live. Thank God he DID have his seatbelt on. Just something to think about. dove

Wow. I am shocked that you were thinking of me! Thanks! Actually, I started PT the day after surgery. Hurts - but it's good pain cause my leg works again. Hard to believe I've been broken for 6 weeks now. But the great news is that this coming monday I will be down to a 2 month wait until I can walk on my leg again! Yippee! Then I have to relearn walking and then running and then.... JUMPING BABY!!!!!! I go through some really tough moments where I want to be able to do something and am unable or I have to ask for help and I want to be independent or I am in lots of pain or I WANT TO JUMP SO BAD IT HURTS!!!! But for the most part I am excited to be healing so well and to be on my way to jumping, jumping, jumping. But I think I'll go back to those docile touch toe landings for a while and stay away from my front risers for a few months! Thanks so much for asking about me Dennis. I really am touched! I am always amazed and grateful that skydivers I don't even know treat me like family. Make a couple of jumps for me and hopefully someday we can play together! love, dove

He he! This one still always makes me laugh. Can you say "addict"?! dove

Don't forget to count your blessings. The weather is simply gorgeous here in Florida. Almost always is. And I haven't jumped in 6 weeks. You could be like me - sitting on the ground with a broken leg. So keep smiling - you've got it good! dove

So funny you mention flying... I have to get back to work this Friday and I get to fly! Not only do I have metal IN my leg, but are they gonna make me take my brace off? It has lots of metal parts. I could easily hide something in there if I was a terrorist, but can they ask you to take something off that supports your broken bones? We'll see! You'll be back in the air before me I'm sure. They take their sweet time with knees and especially since I had some depressed bone (compressed). They put in a bone graft but if you put weight on it too soon you'll just mash it back down again. So I'll be on crutches for a few months. However, you should see my strong sexy arms! Cha-cha! (Not to mention since I can't so cardio and I don't get out hardly at all... I have a stick shift! Pooh!... I just do crunches and strengh training all day) How did I do mine? Mine was a freak sort of thing too. I did a sweet front riser swoop and came out of it just a tad high. But no biggie - I've been a little high before - more than even that! But I just landed on my leg wrong on that first step out of it. Hyperextended my knee (locked my knee and bent it backwards.... nasty!) and hence shattered my tibia. But everyone there, including me, didn't think anything of it until I tried to stand up and I felt my knee shifting left to right and immediately knew I did more than just sprain it. But no one even turned their head since the landing looked totally normal except that after I took 3 steps I went down on my butt. So here I am back on the calcium diet only 5 months after my last accident! And you think your parents are freaked!!!!!! dove

Wildblue, So sorry to hear about your leg - but I am SOOOOOOOOOOO jealous! I broke my tibia lateral plateau (the top part of the big shin bone where the tendon attaches behind your kneecap) . Broke it 2 weeks ago and had to wait 2 weeks for the swelling to go down before they could operate. 2 weeks of bone fragements grating together. Not fun. And I don't get to put any weight on it for 3 freakin' months! I see the doc tomorrow for my first follow up since surgery 2 weeks ago. I think he will be quite impressed. I am doing WAY more in my PT than they predicted. I am supposed to be doing assisted leg lifts of 6-8 inches without my brace on (no cast since it is the knee and I have to keep flexing it - ouch!) and I can do the lift unassisted with my brace on and touch my knee to my nose. Yee-haw! I know I will be back sooner than they predicted, but I won't do anything before the doctor gives me the ok. I don't want to mess with my knee. I have way too many jumps ahead of me for that. Anyhow, hope you recover quickly and get beyond the pain soon. Gimpily, dove

I lost my helmet in a freefly collision last year. My protrack was in that helmet and L&B sent me a replacement free of charge. I didn't lose it due to any fault with their product, but they are just awesome like that. I too got a personal reply from Mads Larsen saying how glad they were I survived the accident and was still around. Incredible. I will never buy another brand of audible. L & B rocks! dove

I can't believe you aren't going to Lake Wales! Coolest people around! If you end up getting an extra day - you should definitely try it. Only 1 hour from Tampa and Zhills. Zhills is a blast too. .Wish I could jump with you. Hell, I just wish I could jump! healing, dove

My info is all second hand so I don't want to say too much. For goodness sake I haven't even left the house for over 2 weeks except for doctors appointments and surgery... But I heard he was avoiding another canopy in the landing area. The pilot of the other canopy was a very well known and highly regarded historical figure in the skydiving community. Unfortunate. He was lucky to have only broken his cheek bone. Remember, I got all this info second hand and because of that I will not mention the name of the other pilot. But it appears that the injuries were not that bad, considering. dove