Morbid Lot, Aren't We?

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

I just did jump 46 today and I guess I should probably start considering myself to be a skydiver, even if I am a newbie one.

I've noticed on the forums here and a the dropzone that everyone seems to know someone who died in this sport. I guess eventually I probably will, too. Not really looking forward to that. Mortality sucks, no two ways about it.

But I really don't want anyone to be sad for me, no matter how I end up going. I've experienced more in my life than most people ever do, and more than I'd have any right to expect. Everyone dies sooner or later, but not everyone really lives. The joy of skydiving and the people you meet along the way are beyond the comprehension of mere earthbound mortals! I'd want my newfound friends to celebrate being able to fly with me, as I did with them, for as long as we were able!

I suppose I should plan ahead, and arrange for beer at my funeral. It would be the last first thing I'd get to do in my life, and I'd feel bad not paying that beer debt.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[Coreece 190]

"Morbid Lot, Aren't We?"

Not really...we jump, we die, big fucking deal.

How about being raped in the ass, kicked in the face and beaten to death? I much rather bounce any day.

What sickens me is how this country and american cinema continues to glorify violence...It's all for entertainment - money...a pox on all their houses.

If we could portray reality and show life for what it is we could change the world, but there is no money in that.

I will not be voting this year.

I pray for the destruction of our society...

this pain is unacceptable...It must end.

Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are...

[Coreece 190]

My life of happiness is not worth living in a world where others feel so much pain...

You have to be one sick fuck to pretend to live in happiness as someone else pays the consequence of life.

If there is pain in life...it should not exist.

God fuck us all....end it now.

Seriously people...wouldn't you rather us all die than have someone experience the pain? Is life really worth it?

Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are...

[MikeJD 0]

The fact is, within this sport there's a preoccupation with death that's completely disproportionate to the actual fatality rate. Like it or not, 'whuffos' are not the only ones guilty of mythologising it.

I'd say I've actually known five people who have been killed during my twenty years in skydiving - a couple of them quite well, some of them barely at all, none of them among my closest friends - and you'll know people too if you stick around. Others have had much worse losses, of course.

But I'd go so far as to predict that both of us will eventually die of something unrelated to jumping, Bruce. In fact, I almost guarantee it.

[davjohns 1]

I've lost one skydiving buddy, a handful of hang gliding buddies and scores of brothers and sisters at arms. If they follow instructions, at least one should be saving us a table in hell in the corner away from the band.

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"
Hunter S. Thompson

David

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[skymama 35]

I thought you were done posting.


To the OP...the deaths of our friends help to remind us to appreciate life more.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[hcsvader 1]

I've had a lot more friends die from drugs and alcohol than from skydiving.
I'd be willing to bet I'm more likely to die from that shit than skydiving.

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[jimmytavino 16]

Re: Aren't WE ??? NO..... not everyone here is stuck on that sorta sadness....... maybe some.....but there are MAny who are Life Livers!!! and try to absorb all that is out there to experience.... we CAN get sad.... when we lose someone... but should never let it get to the level of "morbid"... Rather, we need to celebrate the joy of that life . And then accept the role of carrying THAt loved ones energy with us..... during our rides to altitude... and when we move to the door. and as we Are IN the MOMENT of any skydive we will enjoy, after that person is gone..... carrying them WITH us..... helps to ease the pain and turn the loss into Gain... jmy

[quade 3]

A lot of it depends on where and what type of jumping you do. Jump at a small Cessna dz and never travel much and it would be possible to rack up a decade or more without actually knowing anybody who died. Jump at a larger dz and travel to events and you'll eventually just want to stop counting. It's a smallish sport and the more people you know in it, the worse the odds are somebody you personally know is going to have a really bad day.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Here, sounds like you need these Prozac sprinkles for your Haagen Daas!

I think you'd be better served voting for a third party. If enough people are angry about the situation and don't give up, change is still possible. I'm endlessly optimistic too.

I see the pain in the world. There are many things I can't do anything about, and I find it troubling. I often wake up to the news on NPR thinking that what the world really needs is some sort of... BATMAN! I'm no eccentric billionaire, though.

The world is a chaotic system, and one actor in it can not effect a huge amount of change on his own. But if we all tried to make it a little better for everyone else in whatever little ways we can. Even if it's just noticing that someone needs some words of encouragement and providing them, we CAN improve the world. Alone, one small thing will not make a difference. Together, they can be a wave of irresistible change.

We each have to decide what we want the world we live in to be like, and we each have to work toward that goal. No one's going to drop it in our lap.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[Coreece 190]

Well, several fans requested an encore performance...

I'll be back when I learn to control myself and not get so pissed off...

Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are...

[JohnMitchell 14]

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But I really don't want anyone to be sad for me, no matter how I end up going.

It's unrealistic to expect that. We become friends with people. We're gonna miss them when they're gone.

Fatalities are terrible things and almost always preventable. Prevention is what keeps me working so hard as an instructor. Some people, unfortunately, don't want to be helped. Stubborn.

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I suppose I should plan ahead, and arrange for beer at my funeral. It would be the last first thing I'd get to do in my life, and I'd feel bad not paying that beer debt.

No worries. Somehow there always seems to be plenty to drink at jumpers' funerals. Trust me on this one.

[oldwomanc6 38]

As others have stated, if you stay around the sport long enough, you will know someone who dies. I've lost count. Some of them I knew of, some I knew, some I knew really well, and still miss. Let's not forget, that as long as you keep doing it, it might be you.

I think that our grim sense of humor is a defence/coping mechanism. A certain layer of insulation we apply, because we know what really can happen.

People do this everywhere when tragedy strikes, not just skydiving. How else could a widow with two kids carry on after the car wreck, or how could a kid carry on after his parents' divorce? It is just more apparent at a DZ, because, we know how it really is, and hopefully never say "It can't happen to me".

I think it a nice sentiment that you don't want people to be sad if something happens to you, but if you make emotional connections with anyone, they would be sad. This would be true, if you never made another jump, and went on to live until you were an old man, and died peacefully in bed. The only way to avoid their pain when you go, is to live a very lonely life, which is not really living, IMO.

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[skyjumpenfool 2]

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My life of happiness is not worth living in a world where others feel so much pain...

You have to be one sick fuck to pretend to live in happiness as someone else pays the consequence of life.

If there is pain in life...it should not exist.

God fuck us all....end it now.

Seriously people...wouldn't you rather us all die than have someone experience the pain? Is life really worth it?

"Lighten up Francis!!!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OnpkDWbeJs

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[Skyrad 0]

Are you depressed? Talk to someone.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[Skyrad 0]

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How about being raped in the ass, kicked in the face and beaten to death?

I thought you were making him an offer there for a moment Corey.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Me? No. I just see how sad some other people are, in what is a joyful sport. We all know the risks and we all know the rewards and we all think they're worth it. It's hard for western cultures to not be sad at someone's funeral, but whenever mine rolls around I'd rather it be a celebration of my life than a mourning of my death. That's all, really.

We do all have a strange sense of humor. I was on the plane with my sister and her daughter and her daughter says "Well my emergency contact is my mother!" and my sister says "Well my emergency contact is my brother!" and I'm like "Well I'd rather die in the same plane crash than have to explain to Mom how I lost you two!" Everyone on the plane seemed to agree with that sentiment! And nothing bad at all happened on that jump

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[quade 3]

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Are you depressed? Talk to someone.

I think he just has new kid's disease and is starting to, but hasn't quite, wakened up to what the risks really are and aren't yet. Probably hasn't seen anyone, let alone somebody he knows or is friends with, go in yet.

People can be pretty glib about it until that happens...sometimes even after.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Oh, no! Before my first jump I was quite aware of what the risks were. You're kind of forced to. I still feel safer falling out of a plane than driving, though, and there are things that I find "too risky," like driving a motorcycle, despite the fact that I jump out of a plane for fun.

I don't want to lose track of what the risks are either. If I ever start feeling completely safe doing this, I'll become complacent. If I become complacent, I'll be more likely to be in an accident.

You know your odds of dying in a car accident during the course of your life are 1 in 80, or so? But no one ever freaks out getting in a car (At least not that I've met...)

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[Remster 24]

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Oh, no! Before my first jump I was quite aware of what the risks were

There is a fundamental difference between being aware of the risks, and really really understanding them by having your friend die.

Remster

[quade 3]

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Oh, no! Before my first jump I was quite aware of what the risks were.

With all due respect, that's not possible because you didn't even know what all of them were. Additionally, you only knew them by abstraction. Remster is right, there is a fundamental difference. Hang out in the sport for ten years and see if we're not right.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[chemfx 0]

i've lost friends in most of the sports i've been a part of in my life (skydiving isn't one yet) and some to drugs and alcohol. This don't mean i will go the same way they did, for all i know i'll die an old man with 8 grand kids...

Don't plan your death plan on living your life to the fullest,
death will come looking for ya eventually. Don't be calling it out!

blue skies...

[Southern_Man 0]

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Oh, no! Before my first jump I was quite aware of what the risks were. You're kind of forced to. I still feel safer falling out of a plane than driving,

People are notoriously bad at being able to accurately assess risk. This is a prime example.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[JohnMitchell 14]

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Oh, no! Before my first jump I was quite aware of what the risks were. You're kind of forced to. I still feel safer falling out of a plane than driving,

People are notoriously bad at being able to accurately assess risk. This is a prime example.

Word.

I know very few skydivers that have been killed in car wrecks. But maybe we're just really good drivers.

[jhh166 0]

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But I really don't want anyone to be sad for me, no matter how I end up going.

It's unrealistic to expect that. We become friends with people. We're gonna miss them when they're gone.

Fatalities are terrible things and almost always preventable. Prevention is what keeps me working so hard as an instructor. Some people, unfortunately, don't want to be helped. Stubborn.


You're a good dude John! I look forward to meeting you someday. Your comments are always respectable and of good nature and generally have insight and knowledge. You and a few others seem to be good mentors. I look forward to cross paths with you and take the opportunity to learn something some day!

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