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ltdiver

In Memory of Josh Whipple

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If I thought it would bring him back I would let everyone that has ever met Josh stand in line and punch me in the belly. But I know it won't.

Are you sure? Can't hurt (well... can't hurt -me-) to try ;-) j/k. A touch of humor is helpful from time to time...
find / -name jumpers -print; cat jumpers $USER > manifest; cd /dev/airplane; more altitude; make jump; cd /pub; more beer;



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Josh's sense of humor is something I'm definitely going to miss. In the same voice he would use to speak on issues of religion, psychology, skydiving safety, BASE equipment, or other issues of the utmost seriousness was the same tone and inflection he would use to provide an amazingly witty and ironic response, which used to crack me up. He was amazingly skilled understanding the meta-conversation and bringing the important points to the forefront and responding to those in a humorous manner. The guy was -quick- too. His responses were so tailored to the situation that there was no possible way he could use a cliche or a one liner, or something he saw on TV. It was his own creativity. His creativity made some of the best humor.

The last time I saw him, we were talking about his vacation, and the fact that he going to go south to sunny places of the country, including Arizona. I was encouraging him to cross the border and go experience Mexico for a little while, but also encouraging him to skip the border towns and get into the heart of the country. It would be easier on his budget and a chance to experience something truly new and different. He resisted saying "I'd like to stick with what I -know- I'll enjoy. I don't want to try something and find out I won't like, or get sick on the water, or something.". I persisted, and he came back with: "Well since we're negotiating with -my- vacation, I'll make you a deal: if someone from Arizona will go with me, I'll cross the border ok?". I laughed at how well, he pointed out that he was harrassed (in a friendly manner) by his friends and was being pressured to do something he wasn't sure about and was actually a little nervous about, and brought the main issue of the conversation to the forefront by pointing out it was -his- vacation. It was artistry. I wish I had that ability, I think I'd be a lot funnier if I did. :-)

What was the funniest moment you experienced with Josh?

-=Raistlin
find / -name jumpers -print; cat jumpers $USER > manifest; cd /dev/airplane; more altitude; make jump; cd /pub; more beer;



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Probably the most recent one was when I was showing him how to work on brakes. We had done the front brakes on his truck and were doing the brakes on his mom's little truck. As we were putting the rear back together one of the springs was being a pain and Josh was trying to find a tool to make it easier to stretch back into place. He comes up with a sparkplug wire crimping tool that has a hook on one end. He had no idea what the tool was for and I laughed a little. He asked what was funny and I said I had never seen anyone try to use a wire crimper to do brakes. He said that sometimes you just have to use whats available and it looked like it would work.
Or when Josh sat on the floor with a dog cookie in his mouth just to get our dog to lick his face.

"If you have time to panic, you have time to do something more productive."
Josh Whipple 7/15/70-2/10/05

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The guy was -quick- too. His responses were so tailored to the situation that there was no possible way he could use a cliche or a one liner, or something he saw on TV.



So true. A few weeks ago Josh and I were at Alfy's Pizza grabbing a beer and quick dinner before a Seattle Skydivers meeting. I bought the first round, he was up at the counter getting the second round. I was drinking Mich Ultra, which Josh had already (deservedly) mocked me for. As he was paying, I said to the guy at the counter, "Hey, can I get a water, too?"

Josh looked at me, in all seriousness, and said "But I already got you a water" just as my beer was coming across the counter. Quick wit, indeed, and impeccable timing.

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Josh is a dear friend whom I am going to miss terribly. We'd taken trips to CA, AZ, NV, and Norway together, partied together, and shared many skydives.


This web page is a writeup of our 2000 trip to Norway... nothing deep, but a few pictures (his first BASE exit!) and some wonderful precious memories.

http://research.microsoft.com/barry/norway2000



It is okay to mourn. Sit with your feelings; be present with them; they are what makes life worth living.


I'll always be with you, brother.
Barry

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Thanks, Barry.

mh

.
"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

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I visited Josh in Seattle, with the hope of jumping a local object in the city. We ended up getting weathered out, my ghetto canopy wasn't up to the jump and he wasn't very excited about the wind conditions, so we went and got some beers, played some darts and called it a night. We got up early the next morning and headed south to a big "E" we both really liked. We had to take two cars (this object requires car shuffling) and we would race down the empty highway, passing each other, and smiling out the window. He had a slightly competitive edge that was there for the sake of pure fun. A couple of hours (and many pit stops ;-)) later, we arrived at the base of the cliff. The winds on the ground were great, so we drove up the cliff, and prepared for the hike to the exit point. Josh knew a "short cut" which he was certain was a much easier hike than the bush wacking I'd always done. As we went down the hill on a nice trail we continued our conversation and after awhile we were pretty certain this trail didn't go to the exit point. Josh just shrugged, and said "I said it was an easier hike, I didn't say where it was an easier hike to." we hiked back up the cliff, and took went through the woods the way I'm used to. Josh said he didn't know how to get there, so he'd just follow me. I went ahead and walked through a bunch of little shrubs covered with snow and ended up with snow all over myself. I asked Josh how he got to the exit point before, he said "The way you're going, I'm sure, but there was no snow the shrubs then, and now there isn't anymore (since it was all on me), and now it's coming back to me how to get there this way". As we hiked to exit he told me about his 2000th jump and getting pied for it. He really enjoyed that moment, and encouraged me to skydive again. By the time we got the to top of the cliff face, the winds were easily 20mph over the cliff face. Some rock drops showed that there wasn't going to be any wind at opening, but it was nonetheless scary. Worse yet it was frigid cold. We geared up and gave each other gear checks, cleared the snow from the exit point, and as I was getting ready to go, Josh said "Whoa, hey, wait... I missed something in the gear check." I stopped and froze and he looked a main lift web and said "just as I thought, your reserve handle is missing, you'll have to get that fixed." I smiled and pointed out that while a good joke, I wanted to get off this windy, cold cliff. He said "yah, we should leave before the -really- cold weather gets here." We had great jumps, good landings, and big smiles on the ground.

That was the last jump I did with Josh, and the last BASE jump he ever did. I'll always remember it.

-=Raistlin
find / -name jumpers -print; cat jumpers $USER > manifest; cd /dev/airplane; more altitude; make jump; cd /pub; more beer;



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The last jump I did with Josh and I believe his last fun jump was out of the 182. Josh was going to rodeo me and Kelly was going to shoot stills. The exit went to hell and I ended up on his back like we had left the plane that way. In my video you can see a "how the hell did you get back there?" look on his face. We broke off, him in a sit and me on my belly, had more fun and landed, laughing and trying to figure out just how we did that. Good times.

"If you have time to panic, you have time to do something more productive."
Josh Whipple 7/15/70-2/10/05

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Chris,
Thank you for your sympathies.

The loss of Josh is a true loss to all of us individually, as he was a part of us, and just as though we'd lost a finger; we lost a part of who we are, and there is pain, frustration, confusion, and grief over this loss.

The loss of Josh is also a loss to the greater community. Josh wasn't just a citizen of the world, he was a contributor and a part of it. He wasn't an audience member to the 'show' of life, he was a part of the production. Sometimes he was the starring actor, sometimes he was part of the stage crew, sometimes he was manager walking around with a clipboard making sure everything got done the way it was supposed to, and sometimes he was the anonymous person who sent you flowers before your first big performance. He was the person who would stay up late with you to rehearse your lines, or be the guy who always had an extra hankerchief because he knew you'd need one. It was his ability to change the lives of so many individuals for the sake of the team that made him essential to the community. He had the ability to play a role that few people even know exists, let alone could ever take upon themselves. He was the quiet glue that kept everything together, when it might otherwise become stressed, or even break apart.

If Josh were here (there's a phrase I bet I say many more times...) and his best friend had died, he'd be the person writing emails to friends, sending cards to the family, organizing the services, with his own time, on his own dime (whether he had it or not). Josh knew what the right thing to do was, and he did the right thing... even when it hurt. He bore his pain silently and even smiled, because he knew that doing anything else would be wrong, and that wasn't who he was.

Josh wasn't a preacher, he didn't believe in convincing people against their will, nor did he see it as a desirable aim in the first place. Josh led by example, he showed people the value of his beliefs by the way he treated others. He analyzed his life and took his actions and the effects they had on others very seriously. I admired that about him... he didn't need to lecture on people on who he was, he'd them figure it out. He let people figure him out by bearing witness to his actions and drawing their own conclusion. Josh didn't want robots around him, he didn't want the kind of people that could be easily convinced by a silver tongue. He wanted those around to him to have their minds engaged and to ask questions, and to discuss their skepticism, and ideas. He wanted to explore ideas and methods of thinking. He could always seperate ideas from the people who held them. He discussed ideas, not people.

I hope to do him proud by developing that skill. I'd like to have his attitude of selfless service, responsibility, right and wrong, patience, and ability to seperate people and ideas. I learned what it means to be a solid support for other individuals and in doing so, for a team.

He'll always be a part of many people's lives, a bright smiling part that brings out the best in us.

-=Raistlin
find / -name jumpers -print; cat jumpers $USER > manifest; cd /dev/airplane; more altitude; make jump; cd /pub; more beer;



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Hi Raistlin,

I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Josh, but he is a part of our skydiving family. Thanks to you and all your posts about him, I now feel I do know him.

You have created a 'living memorial' through your words. I thank you for that because I am watching the way you are handling your grief. It helps me deal with the grief of losing one of my best friends this past week.

Please know that Josh and all his loved ones are in my prayers.

Hang in there,
Chris



_________________________________________
Chris






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Yes, Raistlin, I feel the same way as Muenkel.

I really wish I had the opportunity to know Josh personally, but I hold what part of him I understand close to my heart.

He was a beautiful soul, precious in his impermanence, and this world is at a loss with him gone. :(

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I knew Josh personally as we met in 1996 at SPC and probably enjoyed 75-100 jumps with him over the course of three years.

While Josh loved a good debate, so much so he would take an opposite stance just to get the juices flowing, he also would stick up for people like I have never seen before. Not only would he stick up for other people, he had a competitive side to stand up for what he believed in....ever hear any of his road rage stories? :)
Josh had a unique brand of thinking that was all to himself. That uniqueness allowed him to enjoy skydiving in so many different lights, angles, and degrees. He never wanted to be just a bellyflyer or a freeflyer as he felt one alone would be too limiting. He wanted to be both and was.

Last night I spoke at length with another old school jumper from SPC who has known Josh for 12 years and it was interesting to talk about Josh and tell some stories of SPC in the 90's. Sometimes we don't appreciate the happiest times of our lives while we are living them.

My best Josh story is the day we made jumps for a local TV station. I had arranged a day w/ the DZO, but needed to fly with another jumper who also had a digital camera so the station could have double video on each jump. There were only three of us with digitals who freeflied back then. Whomever should up first would be offered the part. I got there early and Josh was second to show. I asked Josh what his jump plans were for the day. "No plans." I aksed, "How about a day of free fun jumping?" His eyes lit up and he had the biggest smile. I gave him the shirt we needed wear for the station and his eyes and smile got even bigger. We ended up making 6 great jumps together that day and enjoyed reviewing our videos over some Corona's that night. The TV station loved our work, sent out a sports anchor, and that production was shown on Fox Sports over 50 times.

Josh - I am going to enjoy remembering our jumps together for years to come. Thanks for being you and sharing your skydiving knowledge with others. You helped a large number of people become better skydivers - thank you!

Brian Giboney

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Josh had a unique brand of thinking that was all to himself. That uniqueness allowed him to enjoy skydiving in so many different lights, angles, and degrees. He never wanted to be just a bellyflyer or a freeflyer as he felt one alone would be too limiting. He wanted to be both and was.



Yeah, reminds me of walking back to the jump center from the parking lot…he asked me, “Are you jumpin’ today?” And I said “Nope. It’s too friggin’ cold.” :P He replied “You know it was so cold the other day on a tandem video I was doing that I was actually thinking, in freefall, of places in town I could go to buy some warmer clothes when we got down.” :ph34r:

Geesh I wish I had that high of an awareness level during freefall. ;)
~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

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Hey Gib,

I remember that. I think I was still on student status when that was done.

Fun stuff to watch.

:)
mh

.
"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

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Hi all...

I just want to take a moment and say bye to Josh... Him and I shared some amazing jumps together and I'm going to miss him.

He used to piss me off sometimes, but that's what friends are for. Your good friends have the guts to tell you how it is, knowing that your friendship is solid enough to withstand any indifferences between you.

Again... I'm going to miss you brother!!!

Your free now brother...

See you soon,

Michael

BATMAN - (A.K.A. SBCmac ...)


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I guess it's fitting that the day I find out about Josh's death is on the 29 year anniversary (if you wanna call it that) that my mom did the same thing. I haven't seen Josh in years, and am still really shocked, and saddened.

permanent solution to a temporary problem....but why does it still hurt.
my pics & stuff!

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Thank you both for your kind words. It was a painful pleasure to write and I'm glad it's brought a sense of knowledge and peace to some people. I think Josh would have wanted that.

This weekend was an epic internal rollercoaster for myself and many others. There were many great stories told, many laughs, and many 'Firsts' and therefore many cases of beer.

My first jump off a certain Washington "E" (and "S")
First jump with Gabe videoing that didn't result in tragedy
Largest groups
A jumper's first jump in quite some time
Many first meetings and many good times.

I want to thank everyone who participated, and brought a sense of peace to myself, and many others. I look forward to seeing everyone and more this weekend at the Memorial.

As much as you can: be well!

-=Raistlin
find / -name jumpers -print; cat jumpers $USER > manifest; cd /dev/airplane; more altitude; make jump; cd /pub; more beer;



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