howardwhite

I would place Howard Gregory's "Parachuting's Unforgettable Jumps" at or near the top of any list. HW

Reviving this antique thread solely to share the attached item, which I found today. First of a bunch of scans from old Spotter magazines. HW

USPA Board meeting in Seattle, 1980. "Interesting" meeting. Exact date when I find it. I've got the whole proposal (I think) somewhere. Who knows? First customer of first commercial parachuting center (Orange): Donald Walker, May, 1959 HW

Having trouble making a avatar? Wanna make a greeting card or a book jacket. Check out http://www.imagegenerator.org/. Warning: stay away if you don't have a lot of time to waste. The site is a mess, by the way. It's free, or 99 cents if you don't want their logo on the image. Samples attached. HW

Wonderful stuff. I spent a day and a half in the USPA "library" in Virginia in December and they don't have any Spotters in it. I have a fairly good collection and there are probably more in an 18-wheeler at the Pepperell, MA, DZ, where the files ended up after Spotter collapsed. This is only one of the dozens of really wonderful pieces by Pat and others that were published only in Spotter, and, as one of the members of the Spotter conspiracy, I guess I need to get as complete a collection as I can into a publicly-available place. (Dan Poynter has a complete collection -- he started the whole thing.) HW

For those who haven't seen the GPS tracks in Google Earth, a screen grab is attached. Very nice. HW

As would I. PM me if this happens. Don't forget to sponsor Jacki, too. HW

A turn whose path resembles the shape of a fish hook?

Well, don't expect to get rich; the check might cover the price of a fun jump. But it is fun to see your stuff in print, and as you are already finding out, the bragging rights are worth something. Long, long ago, USPA used to send out "I contributed to Parachutist" T-shirts to contributors. HW

You'll get a copy in the mail in about a month, along with a check. HW

Gee, how do "70 to 80 jumpers" fit in there?

Well, "April of this year" in this context was April, 2004. But I think it still may be true. Easy enough to ask him. HW

See: http://www.bbbnewyork.org/reports/businessreports.aspx?id=12668 for BBB complaints, and see: http://sheddingsomelight.com/buy-cameras/list/dealers-mraccfam.html for a listing of the companies associated with this name, and links (at the bottom) to lots of complaints. Be afraid. Be very afraid. HW

Brings back memories. I was in Seattle one time and a friend who works for Boeing (and was one of the four earlier jumpers) showed me his picture/movies of it. As I remember, it was a paper airplane flying contest for the children of Boeing employees. (He also had some pretty spectacular pictures, taken from a Boeing corporate jet, of the top of Mt. St. Helens soon after it blew.) HW

SkyVenture New Hampshire is about 22 miles from Manchester, NH (MHT) (~30 mins) and about 50 miles from Boston/Logan (at least an hour and often a lot longer). www.skyventurenh.com

Here are excerpts from a letter to the parents of a friend who died last year: ===== (His) heart went to a 59-year-old female ... whose heart failed due to coronary disease. She is married and, works for the Department of Defense. She enjoys needlework, art, and reading. She is doing very well and healing quickly. She and her family are forever grateful to you for being so generous and compassionate while your own heart was full of pain. The liver recipient is a 49-year-old female .... Her liver failed due to a virus. She is recovering slowly. She was a social worker, but has been disabled because of her illness. She has a daughter and a grandchild. Thanks to your life saving gift she has a second chance at life and is looking forward to spending it with her grandchild. The left kidney and pancreas went to a 35-year-old male .... He has been a diabetic since the age of 14. He is married, and loves music and working with his hands. He is a generous person who would give the shirt off his back. He also is recovering slowly, but doing well. This gentleman thanks you from the bottom of his heart for allowing him to be free from daily insulin injections and the constraints of dialysis. The right kidney went to a 53-year-old male ... who had a perfect match to your son's kidney, which is rare. He is also recovering slowly from his surgery. He is married and works as a driver. He likes to attend church, walk, and play golf. Your loving gift of donation has enabled this gentleman to be untethered from the dangers and constraints of a dialysis machine. Because of your generosity, these people now look forward to happier and healthier lives. ==== HW

Well, I sort of recall this: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=728355;search_string=sport%20death;#728355 HW

He's been at Jumptown (www.jumptown.com) for the past several seasons. HW

Mr. Trivia here to the rescue. The B.P. (before parachutes) definition of ripcord is the cord you pull to open a hole in the gasbag of a balloon, causing it to descend. I guess when it came time to name that thing you pull to save your life, well, there was this word lying around... HW

The smartass who aced his SATs in Latin says "Juris Doctor." But said smartass never heard of the holder of a JD referring to him/herself as "doctor." HW

Close, but outdated. http://www.asa2fly.com/category1.asp?SID=1&Category_ID=247& (First time I've heard of a J.D. being referred to as "Doctor.") HW

And after you eat a lobster, you are left with the exoskeleton on your plate. HW

They have exoskeletons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exoskeleton

The site's been updated to include some pix of the 2006 reunion. Thanks to Carol Cinnamon Galloway, the webmaster (and the new Mrs. George Galloway.) HW

It's http://www.mininova.org/search/?search=leno