beowulf 1 #1 May 15, 2007 An older gentleman walked in to the packing area Sunday dressed in what looked like a brand new Firefly freefly suit. The contrast of his age and the new jumpsuit just struck me as profound. I want to be that guy one day. An old skydiver still enjoying a good skydive. When he got down from his jump, I asked him how is jump went and he proceeded to tell me in detail how he was working on his sitfly. The enthusiasim showed in his voice and eyes. I could have thought he was 18 years old if I weren't looking at him. That even more impressed me. He is who I want to be when I am old and grey haired. I hope he never quits skydiving. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites steveorino 7 #2 May 15, 2007 Why thank you! Uh, you were talking about me, were you not? Actually, I know my driver's license says I'm 52, but I hang out with people 10-20 years younger than me and while my back aches a bit, I feel young. I agree with you, age is an attitude, not a number! steveOrino Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites shropshire 0 #3 May 15, 2007 Gravity knows nowt about age..... 48 and still smiling every time I jump or fly... I just can't help it. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kmfenaughty 0 #4 May 15, 2007 Yea .. that was going to be my question ... what do you consider to be an older gentleman I'm 52 also ... and I'm nobody's "Daddy" and don't ever plan on being. They have a solution for the "grey Hair" these days too. Btw ... I'm in the middle of my AFF class and two weeks after I started jumping my 26 yr old daughter started also. I would be done now except for a screwed up landing Your comments impressed me .. it's not as easy doing this at 52 as it would have been at 25. I have to work harder because I'm less flexiable and being honest a little Advil in the morning helps that out too. What truly impresses me .. is Skydivers with Disabilities I watched as an "older guy" boarded the plane behind me and the instructor that was with me. He ended up doing a HnP but I was stunned when he folded up his cane .. tucked it away in his jump suit .... smiled and rolled out. I truly felt honored to jump with him even before I found out who he was I agree .... age is in your mind but only if you let it. 99% of the people on this earth are sheep ... dare to be different Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites airtwardo 6 #5 May 15, 2007 It's really an overall cultural thing with Skydiving... We all tend to look at things a bit differently I think! A prime example was last weekend...Wife & I were touring Europe, toward the end of the trip I'm driving all night and day to get back up to Paris for a day or two there. Changing highways in 'Podunk' France, my honey looks up and sees canopies in the air. We swing over to a good size civilian airport and start driving past the dozens of hangars, my wife who speaks fluent French says to stop and she'll ask were the skydivers are... I said no need, I already know. They (as always) will be at the farthest hangar away from everyone else, with the dozens of cars covered in stickers parked haphazardly all around it. We found it as I'd envisioned, and walking up introduced ourselves...I was offered to jump, a place to stay, food & beer, and most importantly friendship! It was almost like any other DZ I've been to, except these guys..who were jumping out of a 172, had literally hundreds of questions for me about jumping in the states. Jump rates here are 2/3's what they are there for 1/2 the altitude and no turbines! I couldn't help but think how spoiled we are, and how hard core in love with the sport these 'frogs' are to be doing sequential RW from 5-6 grand!I threw a couple of hand fulls of skydiving pins, stickers and new pull up cords on the manifest table and just sat back and relaxed a bit, recharging my batteries from the hectic week of travel, and sucking up some of the familiar energy flowing all over that place. My wife who is a professional pilot took a walk down through some of the hangars, trying to converse with 'her' peer group in the flying world...45 minutes later she came back complaining what a bunch of pompous and insulting group of people she'd met. She and I have been all over the world, and often stop at a drop-zone if there happens to be one in the area...it's never a planned thing but the result is ALWAYS the same! Friendship, brotherhood and a genuine feeling of welcome. We hit the road again earlier than I wanted to, but Paris was still 7 hours ahead...as we were driving away from that 'farthest hangar' past all the stuffy pilot types she'd encountered, she asked me WHY it was always so different when we came across jumpers...I had to give her that age old reply, knowing full well she would only be able to partially grasp what I was saying: "If you don't understand, I can't explain it to you." ...God I love this sport! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kkeenan 13 #6 May 15, 2007 Quote ...I hang out with people 10-20 years younger than me and while my back aches a bit, I feel young... I recently turned 55, and I've noticed that as I get older, I don't seem to be in sync with whuffos my age. I think that hanging with "them young whippersnappers" at the DZ affects my perception of age. Also, dodging swoopers in the pattern really keeps you on your toes. Until I achieve perfection in RW, CRW, Wingsuit, and Freeflying, I'll be hanging in there. (That may take another 35 years.)As long as Pain Pill technology keeps advancing, there should be plenty of Old Farts around the DZ.Kevin_____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites beowulf 1 #7 May 15, 2007 I hate to guess how old some one is, but I am certain he is older then 55. I am 34, if that gives you any perspective. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Jumpah 0 #8 May 15, 2007 I had a similar moment at Zhills...watching some old timers get ready to do some 4-way, wearing their little hats to keep the sun off their skulls. Was great...beats the hell out of golf. I had another moment that was the inverse of the previous this past weekend at the bonfire...a young lady who was talking to us was asked "So what brought you out to do a skydive?" and she answered "I'm graduating from high school in, like, two weeks, and my friends and I thought this would be, like, a GREAT way to celebrate it!" ...and with that I said my good nights while the TI's stampeded their way into the conversation... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites IanHarrop 37 #9 May 15, 2007 I'll soon be 51 and I too am working on my sit... its a big change from being on my belly. My last jump I had a great time. A 20 something pretty young lady offered to coach me! Gawd I love skydiving"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites peregrinerose 0 #10 May 15, 2007 Dave Dewolf is in his 70s and working on freeflying Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites PrairieDoug 0 #11 May 15, 2007 I love the "age-neutrality" of the sport. There's a terrific crew of hardcore jumpers in their late 50s-early 70s at Chambersburg. They are a blast to jump with and show no signs of slowing down. Doug Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites peregrinerose 0 #12 May 15, 2007 I agree Doug. Rocky Radabaugh, John Fitzgerald, Bob Atkins, etc are some of my favorite people to jump with there! Just look at Stan, he doesn't look anywhere near 60. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites shropshire 0 #13 May 15, 2007 maybe we should start a new club..... POA... Parachutists Over Acne Whoops ...right place now (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kkeenan 13 #14 May 15, 2007 Motto of POPS (Parachutists Over Phorty Society) : You don't quit skydiving because you get old, you get old because you quit skydiving! - Bill Wood Couldn't have said it better myself. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RkyMtnHigh 0 #15 May 15, 2007 Quote Motto of POPS (Parachutists Over Phorty Society) : You don't quit skydiving because you get old, you get old because you quit skydiving! - Bill Wood Couldn't have said it better myself. Kevin 55?! K2, you don't act, I mean look, a day over 21 _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ChrisL 2 #16 May 15, 2007 I did a POPS record jump in NJ last week with Tom Morrison who is 81 years old and an awesome skydiver __ My mighty steed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kallend 1,619 #17 May 15, 2007 Sky Huminsky is 71. He makes about 500 jumps a year. He was on the recent 2-point 139 way and the TSR 150 way. He just got back from the Perris big way camp. Me, I'm only 61.... 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 popsjumper 2 #18 May 16, 2007 ...OK ...why is it, then, that I'm losing my mind but not losing any age? Tell me THAT! My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites BlueSBDeath 2 #19 May 16, 2007 The Mind is a terrible thing to waste...........too late BSBD...........Its all about Respect, USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites beowulf 1 #20 May 16, 2007 I have always said it is my goal to be an old skydiver. If I make to 70 I hope I am still jumping. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites airtwardo 6 #21 May 16, 2007 Quote I have always said it is my goal to be an old skydiver. Never really my goal...just seems to be happening. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites bozo 0 #22 May 16, 2007 Age is only in your mind. No...thats wrong. Its in my knees...the crushed spine...the artificial hip. I wouldnt change a thing....and as Twardo said, there wasnt a plan to be an old skydiver....I just stuck around and got lucky. bozo Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Waldschrat 0 #23 May 16, 2007 Keep and find the fire in your heart for every thing, that is worth to experienced. So many of my friends are old in mind, but still jung in years. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites RkyMtnHigh 0 #24 May 16, 2007 Bob Sinclair and Don Crips are both over 70 and still jumping and love to be around skydivers. They both travel quite a bit too for the SOS meets...they are my heros! _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites popsjumper 2 #25 May 16, 2007 At least I still have my hair! My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. 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steveorino 7 #2 May 15, 2007 Why thank you! Uh, you were talking about me, were you not? Actually, I know my driver's license says I'm 52, but I hang out with people 10-20 years younger than me and while my back aches a bit, I feel young. I agree with you, age is an attitude, not a number! steveOrino Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #3 May 15, 2007 Gravity knows nowt about age..... 48 and still smiling every time I jump or fly... I just can't help it. (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kmfenaughty 0 #4 May 15, 2007 Yea .. that was going to be my question ... what do you consider to be an older gentleman I'm 52 also ... and I'm nobody's "Daddy" and don't ever plan on being. They have a solution for the "grey Hair" these days too. Btw ... I'm in the middle of my AFF class and two weeks after I started jumping my 26 yr old daughter started also. I would be done now except for a screwed up landing Your comments impressed me .. it's not as easy doing this at 52 as it would have been at 25. I have to work harder because I'm less flexiable and being honest a little Advil in the morning helps that out too. What truly impresses me .. is Skydivers with Disabilities I watched as an "older guy" boarded the plane behind me and the instructor that was with me. He ended up doing a HnP but I was stunned when he folded up his cane .. tucked it away in his jump suit .... smiled and rolled out. I truly felt honored to jump with him even before I found out who he was I agree .... age is in your mind but only if you let it. 99% of the people on this earth are sheep ... dare to be different Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #5 May 15, 2007 It's really an overall cultural thing with Skydiving... We all tend to look at things a bit differently I think! A prime example was last weekend...Wife & I were touring Europe, toward the end of the trip I'm driving all night and day to get back up to Paris for a day or two there. Changing highways in 'Podunk' France, my honey looks up and sees canopies in the air. We swing over to a good size civilian airport and start driving past the dozens of hangars, my wife who speaks fluent French says to stop and she'll ask were the skydivers are... I said no need, I already know. They (as always) will be at the farthest hangar away from everyone else, with the dozens of cars covered in stickers parked haphazardly all around it. We found it as I'd envisioned, and walking up introduced ourselves...I was offered to jump, a place to stay, food & beer, and most importantly friendship! It was almost like any other DZ I've been to, except these guys..who were jumping out of a 172, had literally hundreds of questions for me about jumping in the states. Jump rates here are 2/3's what they are there for 1/2 the altitude and no turbines! I couldn't help but think how spoiled we are, and how hard core in love with the sport these 'frogs' are to be doing sequential RW from 5-6 grand!I threw a couple of hand fulls of skydiving pins, stickers and new pull up cords on the manifest table and just sat back and relaxed a bit, recharging my batteries from the hectic week of travel, and sucking up some of the familiar energy flowing all over that place. My wife who is a professional pilot took a walk down through some of the hangars, trying to converse with 'her' peer group in the flying world...45 minutes later she came back complaining what a bunch of pompous and insulting group of people she'd met. She and I have been all over the world, and often stop at a drop-zone if there happens to be one in the area...it's never a planned thing but the result is ALWAYS the same! Friendship, brotherhood and a genuine feeling of welcome. We hit the road again earlier than I wanted to, but Paris was still 7 hours ahead...as we were driving away from that 'farthest hangar' past all the stuffy pilot types she'd encountered, she asked me WHY it was always so different when we came across jumpers...I had to give her that age old reply, knowing full well she would only be able to partially grasp what I was saying: "If you don't understand, I can't explain it to you." ...God I love this sport! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 13 #6 May 15, 2007 Quote ...I hang out with people 10-20 years younger than me and while my back aches a bit, I feel young... I recently turned 55, and I've noticed that as I get older, I don't seem to be in sync with whuffos my age. I think that hanging with "them young whippersnappers" at the DZ affects my perception of age. Also, dodging swoopers in the pattern really keeps you on your toes. Until I achieve perfection in RW, CRW, Wingsuit, and Freeflying, I'll be hanging in there. (That may take another 35 years.)As long as Pain Pill technology keeps advancing, there should be plenty of Old Farts around the DZ.Kevin_____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beowulf 1 #7 May 15, 2007 I hate to guess how old some one is, but I am certain he is older then 55. I am 34, if that gives you any perspective. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jumpah 0 #8 May 15, 2007 I had a similar moment at Zhills...watching some old timers get ready to do some 4-way, wearing their little hats to keep the sun off their skulls. Was great...beats the hell out of golf. I had another moment that was the inverse of the previous this past weekend at the bonfire...a young lady who was talking to us was asked "So what brought you out to do a skydive?" and she answered "I'm graduating from high school in, like, two weeks, and my friends and I thought this would be, like, a GREAT way to celebrate it!" ...and with that I said my good nights while the TI's stampeded their way into the conversation... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IanHarrop 37 #9 May 15, 2007 I'll soon be 51 and I too am working on my sit... its a big change from being on my belly. My last jump I had a great time. A 20 something pretty young lady offered to coach me! Gawd I love skydiving"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peregrinerose 0 #10 May 15, 2007 Dave Dewolf is in his 70s and working on freeflying Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PrairieDoug 0 #11 May 15, 2007 I love the "age-neutrality" of the sport. There's a terrific crew of hardcore jumpers in their late 50s-early 70s at Chambersburg. They are a blast to jump with and show no signs of slowing down. Doug Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peregrinerose 0 #12 May 15, 2007 I agree Doug. Rocky Radabaugh, John Fitzgerald, Bob Atkins, etc are some of my favorite people to jump with there! Just look at Stan, he doesn't look anywhere near 60. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shropshire 0 #13 May 15, 2007 maybe we should start a new club..... POA... Parachutists Over Acne Whoops ...right place now (.)Y(.) Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 13 #14 May 15, 2007 Motto of POPS (Parachutists Over Phorty Society) : You don't quit skydiving because you get old, you get old because you quit skydiving! - Bill Wood Couldn't have said it better myself. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #15 May 15, 2007 Quote Motto of POPS (Parachutists Over Phorty Society) : You don't quit skydiving because you get old, you get old because you quit skydiving! - Bill Wood Couldn't have said it better myself. Kevin 55?! K2, you don't act, I mean look, a day over 21 _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisL 2 #16 May 15, 2007 I did a POPS record jump in NJ last week with Tom Morrison who is 81 years old and an awesome skydiver __ My mighty steed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 1,619 #17 May 15, 2007 Sky Huminsky is 71. He makes about 500 jumps a year. He was on the recent 2-point 139 way and the TSR 150 way. He just got back from the Perris big way camp. Me, I'm only 61.... 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
popsjumper 2 #18 May 16, 2007 ...OK ...why is it, then, that I'm losing my mind but not losing any age? Tell me THAT! My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlueSBDeath 2 #19 May 16, 2007 The Mind is a terrible thing to waste...........too late BSBD...........Its all about Respect, USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beowulf 1 #20 May 16, 2007 I have always said it is my goal to be an old skydiver. If I make to 70 I hope I am still jumping. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #21 May 16, 2007 Quote I have always said it is my goal to be an old skydiver. Never really my goal...just seems to be happening. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bozo 0 #22 May 16, 2007 Age is only in your mind. No...thats wrong. Its in my knees...the crushed spine...the artificial hip. I wouldnt change a thing....and as Twardo said, there wasnt a plan to be an old skydiver....I just stuck around and got lucky. bozo Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Waldschrat 0 #23 May 16, 2007 Keep and find the fire in your heart for every thing, that is worth to experienced. So many of my friends are old in mind, but still jung in years. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #24 May 16, 2007 Bob Sinclair and Don Crips are both over 70 and still jumping and love to be around skydivers. They both travel quite a bit too for the SOS meets...they are my heros! _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #25 May 16, 2007 At least I still have my hair! My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
