Tribe

[marcwgarber 0]

I don't come here often at all, but today is the 25th anniversary of my first jump, and skydiving changed my life.

I met my first fiance at Skydive Chicago in '94. We got engaged in '97 a 20-way that Roger Nelson orchestrated. I didn't end up marrying her though.

I met my now ex-wife in '98 at Skydive Virginia in '98. 3 kiddos. I blame/credit Mike Graham for that one! lol  I think he's at Elsinore these days, approaching 20,000 jumps or something like that.

I took an 11 year layoff after I became a father. My first child was 3 weeks old, and I made a couple of jumps and after each jump I held my little infant girl, and I just couldn't do it anymore. I was okay with taking the risk for me, but not for my baby girl. So I quit for 11 years. If I had owned a motorcycle I would have sold it for the same reasons.

These days I only make a few jumps per year, and in a fun twist of fate my ex-fiance (from Skydive Chicago) gave me back the rig I sold her in '96, that I bought new in '94. The harness/container was a Vector 2 with velcro riser covers and poor pin protection by today's standards, so I swapped that out for a more modern and secure harness/container, but what I'm jumping these days is what I jumped in '94. A Turbo-Z 165 (re-lined), and a PDR-160. Absolutely PERFECT for my level of uncurrency. Most of my jumps are on Viper 105's, which is basically a South African knock-off of the Stiletto 107. I owned three rigs at on point and would do AFF and video back-to-back-to-back. Two Viper 105's and some other South African canopy that was 155. I'm a huge fan of PD, but those Vipers were very affordable and flew almost identically to Stiletto 107's. The only difference was toggle range.

The smallest thing I ever jumped was an Icarus EXTreme FX 83, and Quincy in '98. I stood up the landing, but I was scared. I took it back to Beezy (rip) and said NOPE. My struggle was deciding between the 88 and the 93. George Galloway sent me a 93 demo that I put a few jumps on. LOVED IT. Then I had a violent spinning malfunction - so violent that I was ABOVE the canopy. That was my one and only cutaway. Tempo 120 reserves fly well and are easy to land. I met a friendly horse because I was way off the DZ (I didn't spot).

I've done the rating stuff too. AFF, Tandem, Video, Senior Rigger (although not much of one).

I'm rambling on and on, I realize that. But I'm also having a sentimental moment. 25 years.

Soooo many friends. Soooo much camaraderie. A couple of near-death experiences. But I love you fuckers. You're my tribe.

I need Wendy Faulkner, Winsor Naughler III, bill von, Kevin O'Connell, and Rhonda Lee (even though she unfriended me on FB). Hell, I'll take Mike Fedek (not sure if I spelled that right?)
 

[skybytch 259]

Happy Skybirthday!  

I hit 29 years earlier this month.  How much the sport has changed since we did our first jumps! 

[BillyVance 34]

On 2/27/2019 at 8:46 PM, marcwgarber said:

Hey Marc, I thought I recognized your name! Weren't you on the old rec.skydiving newsgroup? Oh and its Mike Fedak, I believe. Good to see you back online.