blkhwk91b 0 #1 April 13, 2012 Heard this quote today. For some reason it just resonated and I made it my sig. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way." - Alan Watts Blue Skies my friends."Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way." - Alan Watts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck_skywalker 0 #2 April 13, 2012 I agree. Been there, done that. Sick of it, and moving on. This sport seems to be really introspective for a bunch of hooligans that just fall through the air. At least that is the opinion of a rookie(myself). I have only been in the sport a few months. But it has a way of making you reprioritise your life ASAP. In my eyes that is a good thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #3 April 13, 2012 This sport seems to be really introspective for a bunch of hooligans that just fall through the air. Quote Scraping your buddy off the tarmac with a stick & a spoon will do that to ya! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
obelixtim 100 #4 April 13, 2012 I'm sure those who die young would disagree. I wonder how many Mr Watts spoke to?. Its like, "live fast, die young, make a pretty corpse". Or as the refrain from the wars was: "Our glorious dead". What a crock!!!. Nothing glorious or pretty about being dead.... As long as you are alive you have the option to change things. If you live miserably without changing it, its your own damn fault. I know quite a few "fast livers" who are now dead, and I'm certain all of them would rather be elsewhere, alive, rather than pushing up daisies. You're a long time dead, and soon forgotten....My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riddler 0 #5 April 13, 2012 QuoteScraping your buddy off the tarmac with a stick & a spoon will do that to ya! Important point. You need both a stick and a spoon. When I was a new jumper in Colorado I thought I could get away with only using a stick. The problem was, in the winter, the greasy entrails that I left behind in my laziness. They froze to the runway and the airplanes would slide around on that slick, icy mess. So now, I get down on my hands and knees and use the spoon to scrape out those irritating divots. I usually just fling the chunks into the grass so that the ants will consume them before they start to smell bad.Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #6 April 13, 2012 Quote This sport seems to be really introspective for a bunch of hooligans that just fall through the air. Quote Scraping your buddy off the tarmac with a stick & a spoon will do that to ya! I was of the understanding that the 'real' reason we wear a helmet/frap and jumpsuit is to make cleaning-up the mess, easier!? Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #7 April 13, 2012 Quote Quote This sport seems to be really introspective for a bunch of hooligans that just fall through the air. Quote Scraping your buddy off the tarmac with a stick & a spoon will do that to ya! I was of the understanding that the 'real' reason we wear a helmet/frap and jumpsuit is to make cleaning-up the mess, easier!? Chuck Yup......that's what those little handles on the jumpsuit are for! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masterrig 1 #8 April 13, 2012 Quote Quote Quote This sport seems to be really introspective for a bunch of hooligans that just fall through the air. Quote Scraping your buddy off the tarmac with a stick & a spoon will do that to ya! I was of the understanding that the 'real' reason we wear a helmet/frap and jumpsuit is to make cleaning-up the mess, easier!? Chuck Yup......that's what those little handles on the jumpsuit are for! If, we told the truth, a lot of newbies would be scared-off. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jclalor 12 #9 April 13, 2012 Quote***Quote I'm sure those who die young would disagree. I wonder how many Mr Watts spoke to?. Its like, "live fast, die young, make a pretty corpse". Or as the refrain from the wars was: "Our glorious dead". What a crock!!!. Nothing glorious or pretty about being dead.... As long as you are alive you have the option to change things. If you live miserably without changing it, its your own damn fault. I know quite a few "fast livers" who are now dead, and I'm certain all of them would rather be elsewhere, alive, rather than pushing up daisies. You're a long time dead, and soon forgotten.... There was a 21 yo girl that went in at my DZ a year ago, I found it disturbing the number of people who saw it more as a very romantic death as opposed to just being very sad and tragic. Perhaps the older we get, the less romantic death becomes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
obelixtim 100 #10 April 13, 2012 QuoteThere was a 21 yo girl that went in at my DZ a year ago, I found it disturbing the number of people who saw it more as a very romantic death as opposed to just being very sad and tragic. Its the same with trotting out "well they died doing something they loved", as if it was some consolation..... Absolute B.S. I say. Dead is dead, Game over.... I'm sure more than a few skydivers experienced sheer terror as they rushed to meet their maker, when they were out of options and realised what was coming next. I did read a great quote from someone, can't remember who it was. It went something like: "Do I fear death?. No, I don't fear death, I just don't want to be around when it happens".My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marinus 0 #11 April 13, 2012 Quote"Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way." It's a false dilemma, nothing more. It's better to have a life that's full of what you like doing and it's better to have a long life. The two aren't mutually exclusive and so the statement doesn't make a lot of sense. It comes in handy as a statement when you fancy a life full of risky stuff, but on the wisdom scale this one doesn't score very well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,390 #12 April 13, 2012 Quote "Do I fear death?. No, I don't fear death, I just don't want to be around when it happens". That quote sounded like Woody Allen to me, and confirmed it with Google."There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,635 #13 April 13, 2012 QuoteQuote "Do I fear death?. No, I don't fear death, I just don't want to be around when it happens". That quote sounded like Woody Allen to me, and confirmed it with Google. Also: "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying."... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #14 April 13, 2012 Quote Quote "Do I fear death?. No, I don't fear death, I just don't want to be around when it happens". That quote sounded like Woody Allen to me, and confirmed it with Google. ...and married men don't actually live longer...it just seems like it'll never end. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Born2Late 0 #15 April 13, 2012 "...and married men don't actually live longer...it just seems like it'll never end." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blkhwk91b 0 #16 April 14, 2012 Interesting the direction this thread went right off the bat. When I read the quote I didn't associate it with risky behavior or skydiving. I kinda threw it into the same category as "The unexamined life is not worth living." Which can have absolutely nothing to do with skydiving etc. I also agree with the person who said the contradictory points of the quote are not mutually exclusive. I like it none the less."Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way." - Alan Watts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #17 April 14, 2012 I didn't associate it with risky behavior or skydiving. Quote ...yet you use it as your sig-line on a Skydiving website. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blkhwk91b 0 #18 April 14, 2012 Quote I didn't associate it with risky behavior or skydiving. Quote ...yet you use it as your sig-line on a Skydiving website. Irony is the spice of life. heheheheh"Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way." - Alan Watts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
