skypuppy 1
Hi, Rob --
The piece ran as a seven-part series in Parachutist, the last installment appearing in the January issue. To make everything fit, I had to tighten up some parts, but it was essentially what was posted here last year. They've asked me to do something on the Turkey Meets, to which I've agreed, but don't know when I'll have the time. Between travels to various unpleasant places in Africa, and shepherding my next book through the publication process (out next month), have been up to my eyeballs.
Many thanks for the kind words - and please say hello to Bob Wright for me.
Hoop
The piece ran as a seven-part series in Parachutist, the last installment appearing in the January issue. To make everything fit, I had to tighten up some parts, but it was essentially what was posted here last year. They've asked me to do something on the Turkey Meets, to which I've agreed, but don't know when I'll have the time. Between travels to various unpleasant places in Africa, and shepherding my next book through the publication process (out next month), have been up to my eyeballs.
Many thanks for the kind words - and please say hello to Bob Wright for me.
Hoop
patmoore 14
Hoop,
I'm glad this thread was revived. Otherwise I'd have never had the chance to relive those wonderful days. Even though I was a "serious jumper" 
at Z-Hills, I was mesmerized by your team's exploits and rapid ascendancy in the world of RW.
About a year ago I started jotting down some of my memories of my years in the sport. I don't know if it would be of interest to anyone here but I'm attaching it anyway. It's written with the non-jumping reader in mind so some of the explanations may be a bit tedious. If you'd prefer not to open attachments, I've saved it online as a PDF.
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
JohnRich 4
QuoteAttachments: Sky Diving - by Pat Moore.doc (264 KB)
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing it.
The only error I found was one sentence where you used the word "life" when you meant "like".
Patrick -- although I soon took another branch of skydiving's evolutionary tree, there's a lot there that I can identify with. Good read. Fifty years from now the serious skydiving historians will be moaning about how few recorded those formative years.
Hoop
PS That John Rich has a keen editorial eye, eh?
Hoop
PS That John Rich has a keen editorial eye, eh?
goldwing 0
Nice work, wish more of us "older" jumpers would document their experiences. Gotta be some great stories to tell. I would suggest more pictures to help add visual interest to the snext part of the story.
You haven't lived until you've almost died"
lodestar 0
Pat,
A great read for sure....thanks for posting that!!
Hoop has a point though, in 50 years most of the history of the sport will likely be preserved in the magazines that were out in those days (USPA and CANPARA) there is very little individual journalistic record of the times back then.
But thanks to men like you and hoop, there are a few instances of personal history floating around out there.
Carry on!!
A great read for sure....thanks for posting that!!
Hoop has a point though, in 50 years most of the history of the sport will likely be preserved in the magazines that were out in those days (USPA and CANPARA) there is very little individual journalistic record of the times back then.
But thanks to men like you and hoop, there are a few instances of personal history floating around out there.
Carry on!!
patmoore 14
Thanks to all of you for your feedback (and catching the typo - it will be fixed when I get home). I keep threatening to get a slide scanner so the 1000+ other photos I have can see the light of day after a four decade slumber.
Tuna, it's always good to hear from you.
This particular segment was an excerpt from a not-so-weighty tome I'm creating that chronicles a few of my life's misadventures in the service, broadcasting (where I was fortunate to work with Hoop at the NBC affiliate in Tampa), skiing/boarding and going way back when I really tested how much my dad loved me. At 87 he still does and claims not to remember how I destroyed the convertible top of his 1949 Mercury among other misdeeds in the early fifties....
Tuna, it's always good to hear from you.
This particular segment was an excerpt from a not-so-weighty tome I'm creating that chronicles a few of my life's misadventures in the service, broadcasting (where I was fortunate to work with Hoop at the NBC affiliate in Tampa), skiing/boarding and going way back when I really tested how much my dad loved me. At 87 he still does and claims not to remember how I destroyed the convertible top of his 1949 Mercury among other misdeeds in the early fifties....
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
piper17 1
A really great read!
Two comments:
First, at the top of page two in the Word document, it should be "knew" rather than "know" in the sentence "As we discovered later, he knew nothing....
Second is a pet peeve of mine in the sentence about Z-Hills' Lockheed Electra. The phrase should be "exactly the same" rather than "exact same". You should use an adverb to modify an adjective as opposed to using adjective to modify an adjective. 
I think Hoop, the wordsmith, will concur.
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition"...Rudyard Kipling
patmoore 14
I greatly appreciate the critique.
In college Dr. Dusenberry referred to me as Conan the Grammarian. I can use all the help I can get!
In college Dr. Dusenberry referred to me as Conan the Grammarian. I can use all the help I can get!
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
RonD1120 58
Hi Pat,
A great way to start my day. The Mardi Gras Meet in Hammond LA, taping a wine bottle to the instrument panel for the artificial horizon. Wow! I don't remember Pablo telling that story and I drove back to Tampa. It is difficult to remember much of anything from that meet. I do recall that Ron Brissey would burst into laughter everytime we regained consciousness and I would hand him the Boone's Farm and proclaim that now it was time to get down to some serious drinking. I still have contact with Leon "crazy Coon-ass" Riche as well as many others from that era.
My last air show performance was April 2005 and my last jump in 2006. I think I have retired, again, with 3K+ jumps.
I just retired as program coordinator at a substance abuse treatment program. Now I am dealing with family members who have dementia, impending death and addiction. Nothing changes.
I started jumping in 1963 and got sober in 1983. Only God can take twenty years of being a screw-up and turn it into a profession.
We should start having reunions with our own eclectic esoteric bunch. Maybe we could make video documentaries for parachuting posterity. I'll bet Hoop could still give a WC Fields Cardinal demo, with O'doul's. As I recall, you and Ron were both Pope's as well as me, "Pope Ron the Raunchy."
Congrats on the NASTAR achievements. Thanks again for your post.
Lifted on His wings,
Ron
A great way to start my day. The Mardi Gras Meet in Hammond LA, taping a wine bottle to the instrument panel for the artificial horizon. Wow! I don't remember Pablo telling that story and I drove back to Tampa. It is difficult to remember much of anything from that meet. I do recall that Ron Brissey would burst into laughter everytime we regained consciousness and I would hand him the Boone's Farm and proclaim that now it was time to get down to some serious drinking. I still have contact with Leon "crazy Coon-ass" Riche as well as many others from that era.
My last air show performance was April 2005 and my last jump in 2006. I think I have retired, again, with 3K+ jumps.
I just retired as program coordinator at a substance abuse treatment program. Now I am dealing with family members who have dementia, impending death and addiction. Nothing changes.
I started jumping in 1963 and got sober in 1983. Only God can take twenty years of being a screw-up and turn it into a profession.
We should start having reunions with our own eclectic esoteric bunch. Maybe we could make video documentaries for parachuting posterity. I'll bet Hoop could still give a WC Fields Cardinal demo, with O'doul's. As I recall, you and Ron were both Pope's as well as me, "Pope Ron the Raunchy."
Congrats on the NASTAR achievements. Thanks again for your post.
Lifted on His wings,
Ron
Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.
patmoore 14
Hey Ron!
That trip to New Orleans will never be forgotten. Lance and Ruth took a commercial flight home.
Have you ever been back to visit the "Magic Forest" in Lutz where we lived in the early 70s?
Penny and I are coming to Tampa to see her dad early next month and are hoping to find some free time the evening of April 8th or 9th to hook up with you and Ski and Donna. We'll talk to her dad tonight to see what his plans are and how flexible ours can be.
That trip to New Orleans will never be forgotten. Lance and Ruth took a commercial flight home.
Have you ever been back to visit the "Magic Forest" in Lutz where we lived in the early 70s?
Penny and I are coming to Tampa to see her dad early next month and are hoping to find some free time the evening of April 8th or 9th to hook up with you and Ski and Donna. We'll talk to her dad tonight to see what his plans are and how flexible ours can be.
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
lodestar 0
Hey Grimsley,
I'm hazy (wonder why that is?) on exactly where the magic forest is or was.
Please shoot me the directions if you don't mind, next time I'm in tampa i'd like to have a look. Is it still in existance? My guess would be that the area has been developed and is now a housing development but you never know......
Thanks Ron,
Tuna
I'm hazy (wonder why that is?) on exactly where the magic forest is or was.
Please shoot me the directions if you don't mind, next time I'm in tampa i'd like to have a look. Is it still in existance? My guess would be that the area has been developed and is now a housing development but you never know......
Thanks Ron,
Tuna
QuoteHey Grimsley,
I'm hazy (wonder why that is?) on exactly where the magic forest is or was.
Please shoot me the directions if you don't mind, next time I'm in tampa i'd like to have a look. Is it still in existance? My guess would be that the area has been developed and is now a housing development but you never know......
Thanks Ron,
Tuna
Hey Tuna,
I don't have an address, but basically you get off the Interstate at Bearss Ave., go one block West, turn right on N. Florida Ave. and go about 1 mile or so North. The Magic Forrest (was a Nursery with some houses in it as I recall) is on the right (if still there).
-----------------------
Roger "Ramjet" Clark
FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519
RonD1120 58
Funny you should ask that question, 26 years ago on the 15 March, Mike Patterson and I went there and walked around some. That was the last time I drank.
Let me know when you are in town, 8 or 9 Apr is good for Carmen and me. I'd love to catch up.
Let me know when you are in town, 8 or 9 Apr is good for Carmen and me. I'd love to catch up.
Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.
RonD1120 58
Hey Tuna,
Roger has the directions correct. It is just south of the apex of US 41, Nebraska Ave, and Bus US 41, Florida Ave. It has been awhile since I drove by but it seems like the property has been developed.
Carmen and I are trying to work up a camping trip to Faver-Dykes State Park south of St Augustine. Maybe we can hook-up then. I'll let you know when plans are firm. We need to do some catchin' up as well. Your broom is still by our fireplace.
Ron
Roger has the directions correct. It is just south of the apex of US 41, Nebraska Ave, and Bus US 41, Florida Ave. It has been awhile since I drove by but it seems like the property has been developed.
Carmen and I are trying to work up a camping trip to Faver-Dykes State Park south of St Augustine. Maybe we can hook-up then. I'll let you know when plans are firm. We need to do some catchin' up as well. Your broom is still by our fireplace.
Ron
Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.
patmoore 14
Roger, you have an exceptional memory. Ron and Linda, Mike and Roe (sp?) and Connie and I all rented houses there. The homes wiith terrazzo floors had all been relocated to the nursery when I 75 was built.
We still haven't talked to Penny's dad but hope to be able to break free when we're in Tampa to hook up with all you guys.
We still haven't talked to Penny's dad but hope to be able to break free when we're in Tampa to hook up with all you guys.
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
lodestar 0
Ron,
For sure please contact me while you're at faver dikes....it's a nice little park with access to good fishing and very rustic.
You might want to check out the Princess Preserve as well, it's south of FD and has some wonderful campsites
along the marsh with boat/canoe slips at the sites.
And don't forget Anastasia State Park, right near town, sites are close but separated by brush, it's on the ocean with excellent boating and fishing as well, and downtown is within 5 min of town and all that tourist stuff......
For sure please contact me while you're at faver dikes....it's a nice little park with access to good fishing and very rustic.
You might want to check out the Princess Preserve as well, it's south of FD and has some wonderful campsites
along the marsh with boat/canoe slips at the sites.
And don't forget Anastasia State Park, right near town, sites are close but separated by brush, it's on the ocean with excellent boating and fishing as well, and downtown is within 5 min of town and all that tourist stuff......
QuoteRoger, you have an exceptional memory. Ron and Linda, Mike and Roe (sp?) and Connie and I all rented houses there. The homes wiith terrazzo floors had all been relocated to the nursery when I 75 was built.
We still haven't talked to Penny's dad but hope to be able to break free when we're in Tampa to hook up with all you guys.
I remember the magic forrest with fondness. I can't remember the guy's name I used to hang with there, maybe someone else can help with that. He was in charge of the grounds at Tampa International Airport. Anyway, I got laid there by a pretty young student from Orlando that I had no idea had any interest in me, but my friend told me early in the evening that it was gonna happen
I believe Mike "Rumpson" Patterson had a place there too, but the memory is fuzzy after all this time.
-----------------------
Roger "Ramjet" Clark
FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519
Rog - that was Kurt 'Capn'n Kirk' Johnson, who hung out with Chip McCloskey and Peter Gabrial (who painted the first rainbow Z'hills on the old building.) Now, as to the identity of the lady, I'm intrigued.
Hoop
I just had to find the thread and bring it back again for the people that hadn't read it yet.
ps. any word on a second installment, Jim?
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone
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