Geonimoooooooooooo!!

Woke up Saturday morning excited and a little scared... the day had arrived to jump out of a perfectly good airplane! I drove about an hour southeast of home to Eloy, Arizona, home of Skydive Arizona...signed up and watched a 15 minute video and filled out paperwork signing my life away in case of accident...(standard operating procedure). Then they put our names on the board and matched us with an instructor because it was going to be a tandem jump...(you're strapped to the instructor who carries the parachute and gives instructions the whole way). Up to this point I was feeling good; the weather was perfect (sunny with a nice breeze, not too hot), my instructor was a cool guy (although he was at least 6 inches shorter than me), my videographer was also cool...(Yes, I purchased a photo and DVD package of this most excellent adventure)...

I was fitted into my harness (a little tight where the "boys" had to ride, but adjustment was possible so they had a good seat)...in fact, one of our group who was in paratroopers in the military told me to readjust just before jumping, so no one got "caught up in the moment" so to speak... The video guy was around taking pictures and shooting video while we waited for our plane... We went outside and watched some of our group float down into the landing area and let me tell you, you come down at a pretty good clip. But the instructors had control and they landed pretty softly... A few more pictures and then off to the airplane! You see most parachute footage and they jump off a small plane from the side door...not us...we were jumping from a mini-van with wings!! It had a back door like the cargo planes the military uses, so we would basically walk to the end of the plane and step out into space...I was seated second from the end of the plane, so I would be second off when we hit the jump zone... My instructor told me we would be jumping from 13,000 feet and would hook together around 10,000... I watched the altimeter of the guy in front of me and the ground was shrinking farther and farther away...(stop looking out the window!) I laid my head back and closed my eyes and just tried to relax...(adrenaline and nerves were in high gear).

Next came the closest thing to being in a prison movie I ever want to try... the instructor hooks us together with me in front and him behind and literally no space between us... Because of my height advantage it was like carrying a human backpack around... It was uncomfortable, but I was glad he was there... I would not have jumped without someone to push me out of the plane! Up on our feet, first jumper out (watching that did NOT increase my confidence) and we walked to the edge... head back, back arched, one-two-three STEP (Holy sh#$#! I'm out of the plane! I mean Geronimoooooo!)... You keep your thumbs tucked in your harness (to keep your arms out of the way) until the instructor taps you...then you assume the freefall position while the video guy zooms around taking footage and pictures... What a freakin' rush!! You freefall for only about a minute but it doesn't feel like a minute... Then he releases the chute and you're pulled back up toward the plane... Then you're just floating on the wind... It's hard to describe the feelings going through me...(luckily, feelings were the only thing going through me). I asked him how high we were after he released the chute... around 3600 feet... so we dropped like a stone almost 10,000 feet!!! (but you don't feel like you're falling, it was a floating sensation)... After handing me the controls we executed some left and right turns and then he directed us to the landing area... feet together and up, he hit the ground first and I just stood up, safely back on the ground with an endorphin rush second to none...

To say this was a great experience would cheapen the moment...It is something you must try for yourself to really appreciate it...and I am the first in line to volunteer to go with any of my blogging readers who wish to "hit the silks"... The rush and excitement was worth every worry and nervous moment... Today I return to more mundane activities... A hike through the mountains of Glendale and then a afternoon jaunt through Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Taliesin... Mike, I will be sure to send some pictures for your viewing pleasure...