Deuce 1 #1 May 24, 2003 You shoulda seen the truck. Camping gear, cooler(s) (one just for beer), and an motorcycle. Pulled into Perris about 1 on Wednesday, Viking shows up, we get the good camping spots, sweat out a gallon just setting them up, B-squared shows up with McGowan, I get a quick hug and kiss (from Betsy) and she's off to do the organizer thing. I drink a gallon of water and go for a swim. Nobody is here yet. Kelli (Skycat?) shows up, sets up her tent, and here comes LouDiamond. We get our gear checked, put some money on account. Hey, there's Amy and BillVon! Haven't met them before, really nice folks. Oh, god, here comes Bytch! Man, that's a back cracker of a hug! (Nice rack too). Me and Scot get together to practice the balloon jump with the birdman suit. As I'm gearing up I walk over to the group and Lisa is looking at my legstraps like there's something wrong (chick's a rigger, you know) she takes out her camera and takes a picture. "Nice package, Deuce" Whattabytch. Super nice jump with Scot. The exit shot is pure, but the separation thing we could fix on the next jump. After the one jump we call it a day. I have some water and talk with Amy, Bill, and Kelli while Bytch drinks 4 pitcher of beer. "I'm gonna go get Mouth and Dragontail" "I'M COMING WITHF YOU!" says Bytch. And we're off. Bytch goes into the airport to collect Lisa and Richard, and here they are! I get my first full-body-monkey-hug! (At Eloy I had a bum knee) How great to see good friends, and to meet new ones. We all have a beer and SkyBytch gets us lost on the way back, cause she is absolutely shitfaced. No worries, I have a GPS (thank god!) We have a couple more beers at the Bombshelter and they close. IslandCool wins the blood alcohol level competition on Wednesday night. Thursday dawns beautiful. Not so hot as yesterday. Meet up in the Bombshelter where Betsy, M&M, and Scott are having coffee. Betsy is wonderful to be around again. By 8:30 I'm antsy, and loudly and belligerently state "They aren't gonna turn that plane until we manifest!" 20 minute call! Me, Lisa, IslandCool, and Richard are gonna do a 4 way and Jack, an old camera flier friend of Lisa's is going out with us, and so is Mike McGowan. Closed accordion exit starts out OK but funnels, we get the round, but that's about it. Me, Lisa and Richard do this closed on Richard, open on Lisa thing and McGowan finds the few 500ths of a second where we all look good and takes pictures. BTW, McGowan is one of the nicest experts I have ever met. Turns out I didn't get to talk to him as much as I had wanted, but I learned a whole lot in the little time I had. I'm a better photographer for the talks. Thanks Mike. Anyhow we land without incident, laugh and celebrate being in the sky again. Betsy is doing freefly stuff with Scott, so I'll get her later. Me, DBattman, Richard, and Lisa go back up and nail out the same skydive, getting 8 points. Not bad for people who don't skydive together! Looks like I'll be first down, I set up a north-to-south straight in approach and dig my front risers. An HP elliptical sinks down in front of me and hooks a 180, reversing the landing pattern I was set up for. At Perris, first person down sets the pattern. I go into a braked turn and get about 100 degrees turned around before I have to release and flare. A little too much vertical speed, a little too much lateral speed, and the ground is just a little too hard and uneven. Snap. I PLF, and sit up making the big "O" for OK with my arms. I go to stand up a little and feel the bones in my ankle slide around. Shit. My wonderful friends come over and ask if I'm OK, and I say yes, but my ankle's broken. It's actually kind of nice that they're pissed at me for taking myself out of the weekend. I get the luxury golf cart ride over to the packing area and the Bombshelter provides a nice bag of ice. Lisa insists I go to the hospital and I submit. Lisa's good people. She drives me to the Kaiser at Riverside and has a good time working the V8 in my Quad Cab. Mouth drives like a cop. She really likes that 'WHOOOOOOMP" sound a real motor makes when you open it up. She rolls me into the ER. They whack one of the whackable cold packs and now Lisa is on a mission. Anger management by whacking cold packs. She talks them out of about 4, and she's whacking them like Jack Nicholson, and laughing like a psychotic as they "magically" get cold. She is an absolute hoot. X-rays. Those technicians love to move a fracture until they hear the bones working against each other, but I don't react as planned so she takes the x-rays, refuses to speculate about the condition of my ankle, and wheels me back to the exam room. Lisa is cracking me up. They give me this laminated card that says "ED-3". I'm like, "What the hell happened to EDs 1 and 2?" I actually soften them up a little. Plus Lisa is just merciless, and she's asking everybody with a hospital ID for smackable cold packs. The doctor peeks in, says "I'll be right back" and then peeks back in and says "Oh, your ankle's fractured, but you MAY not need surgery, I'm getting a consult" SHITFIRE! I was hoping against hope for a sprain. Lights out, parties over. Lisa is getting video now of my pain. Hooty-hoo HotMamaMonkey is documenting the incident for the DZ.archives. Why did I tell her about video cameras. "You want some Vicodan?" Duh. We ride back, I got a splint and ace-bandage thing, Lisa suits up and gets some jumps in. Lisa, I am forever grateful for your generosity and kindness. Thank you.I'm drinking beer, the sun sets, and a decent sized group of us goes out to dinner. For whatever reason, mine and Lisa's are late and you haven't seen mean until you've seen a hungry Mouth chew out a Sizzler manager for gross incompetence. Definitely worth the price of admission. We have a couple more beers back at the IHOP and witness the loudest snorer New Zealand ever produced. Seriously, if you got in front of this dude at full snort he'd inhale you to the shoes. Friday dawns and Corndog, Matt, Mouth, Diablopilot, Tango, Dragontail, and my gimpy self break my camp. Putting a 700 pound motorcycle up the ramps is no mean feat, but we did it. Thanks so much. I'm all packed up, I hurt like hell, I drop a couple pills and chill out with the DZ.com crowd. I meet Vallerina, and she's very tall, blonde, and "Hot" (apparently that's the adjective she likes best) I tell her how chivalrous Mouth was to me the day before. LTDiver wants to look at my X-rays, and I give her the keys to my truck and ask if she'll bring my phone back with her. She comes back a little later and says, "Um, I was looking for your phone in your console..." Uh, oh. sorry LT. I wish I coulda been there when she picked up what she thought was a very heavy little phone and turnes out to be an AMT DAO .45 pistol, though Hugs and kisses and I'm outta there. See you at Eloy next Christmas. You are the best people there are. JP(the gimpy JP) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #2 May 24, 2003 5-8 The third one is Mouth at the end of a 100 yard deadman swoop. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #3 May 24, 2003 9-12 Good peeps. The color is still coming up on the foot. Should be great in a couple days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
katiebear21 0 #4 May 24, 2003 Deuce - if it makes you feel any better I am loving you a second time! Nice to see Lisa on her knees again! Heal up quick - see ya in Eloy!!! Katie Get your PMS glass necklace here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #5 May 24, 2003 Yeah, KatieB, all that's left on the right side to hose is the hip. I'll save that for next spring! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #6 May 25, 2003 Ugh, you need to put a warning on that ankle pic of yours, "not for wimpy-ass stomachs!" I'm so sorry you got hurt, JP. Looks like I'll have to make a special trip to meet up with you when I'm in SF next month. Just let me know how to get to you from Chopchop's place, and I'll come say hi! 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hooked 0 #7 May 25, 2003 OUCH!!! The foot/ankle look downright nasty! Heal quickly! Jan -------------------------------------- Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #8 May 25, 2003 I'm going up to Davis to teach JP(smart) to shoot. The range is right across the street. I'll come out to meet you! Besides, I've never done a tandem, and JP's offered to shoe me the thrill. Now that is scary. Thanks, Andrea! JP(stupid) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muenkel 0 #9 May 25, 2003 Watch your backs Jessica and Michele! Deuce has got some writing skills!!! What a great....um....sad story, but funny as hell. I can picture the whole event. Seriously Deuce, heal quickly. Did the Dr. discuss anything about the early stages of osteoporosis?Chris _________________________________________ Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #10 May 25, 2003 Yea, I'm so glad you're going to come out, JP! How long does it take to learn to shoot? 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #11 May 25, 2003 Quote How long does it take to learn to shoot? Well, as I understand it, it takes a miraculously short time when other people are shooting at you.Progession with JP the shooting instruction will take a very short time. .22 to .45 pistol. The .22 to .45-70 rifle. One day. I'll get video. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #12 May 25, 2003 Bump The exit picture of LouDiamond is really worth checking out. I'm getting a birdman suit for Christmas. Dammit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanuckInUSA 0 #13 May 25, 2003 Duece Sorry to hear about your accident and that picture of your purple ankle proves that it's not a trivial injury (sending get well vibes to JP). Obviuosly that fellow who swooped down below you to change the landing direction messed you up. But if you were already commited in landing a certain direction, one would think that it would have been better to continue landing in that direction and then take whatever flak that needed to be taken once safely on the ground? Something similar happened to me at Eloy over the holiday boogie and I was lucky enough to be able to do my flat turns and land safely. But after that I decided to wait up high for the higher performance guys to set the landing pattern. At my home DZ (a medium sized DZ) being a freeflier I am often one of the first down setting a pattern, but at a busy DZ, I know it's in my better interest to wait up high. PS: I'm not trying to second guess you. It just seems that this dude messed you up by alternating the landing direction and you in turn got messed up. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #14 May 25, 2003 I'm not a blamer. The rule at Perris is simple. In retrospect I should have just made a 90 and landed off, crosswind. If I had continued to the grass landing area I might have had half the load follow me,and the other half follow the first jumper down, who establishes the pattern by rule. It's one thing for me to do something stupid, it's wholely another thing to lead others into something stupid. Now if I could only get Kaiser to schedule me with the ortho doctor! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #15 May 25, 2003 Hey, Deuce, You were gone before I got here (arr Perris 9pm yesterday [sat]). Sorry you got hurt. Hope I'll catch you next time."The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
katiebear21 0 #16 May 25, 2003 Quote The exit picture of LouDiamond is really worth checking out. I'm getting a birdman suit for Christmas. That is a great pic! It made me think of him saying, "Whattup lip?" Katie Get your PMS glass necklace here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #17 May 25, 2003 Nah, if you were taking rhe picture, he'd be saying "How YOU doin"? Mark, catch you next time! You guys should be doing hybrids today. Get Tango to put up some screen grabs! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shark 0 #18 May 26, 2003 Quote I'm going up to Davis to teach JP(smart) to shoot. The range is right across the street. You mean he's going to swoop the range and you will test your full choked shotgun?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,129 #19 May 26, 2003 Duece, it's a great story to read, but obviously not that great that you ot hurt. Hopefully you'll heal quickly. Nice colour on that ankle Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #20 May 26, 2003 Thank you for telling the story! I've met most of the folks that you were meeting/had met also, and you're right, they're class act folks! Heal up bro, you've got to be able and ready, since you never know when the next really cool dive will happen (or not happen, damnit I wish there was video).--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #21 May 26, 2003 Nice Ankle Pic!!! Nice pics all around. I see Lisa still has that certain "style" of landing. Heal up quick!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jumperpaula 0 #22 May 26, 2003 Quote A little too much vertical speed, a little too much lateral speed, and the ground is just a little too hard and uneven. Snap. I PLF, and sit up making the big "O" for OK with my arms. I go to stand up a little and feel the bones in my ankle slide around. Shit. Dude, so sorry you are hurt. You have to be very very careful with those ankles and feet while you are landing. Many people every year break bones on reasonable landings. I would have reason to think that ankles and feet are a common injury in our sport. Even more so than wrists.... Get well soon my friend!! Paula Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deuce 1 #23 May 26, 2003 Another member of "Team JP"! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Girlfalldown 0 #24 May 27, 2003 Hi JP, Glad it wasn't any worse! Hope you heal fast and get back home to Byron where you know how to land... Let me know if there's anything we can do for you! -------------- (Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jlmiracle 7 #25 May 27, 2003 OMG! He really does look like Lou DiamondBe kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
