Merrick

Maybe they were afraid they might offend all of us Palmer minions by actually suggesting that we go somewhere else! Actually, I really wish we could make it this weekend, but we can't... That would be awesome, caravan this weekend, it's back up at Derby the first of June, the same caravan July 4th.. wooohooo.... I'm gettin' all tingly! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

I Sure would like to have seen this load of bullshit.... Pam & I started jumping together & we both love it. However, it doesn't in any way define our love for each other. True, we seem to get closer & closer the more we skydive, but who's to say that wouldn't happen sitting at home on the couch... It's all time & history, our love is built on US, NOTHING else!! I love you baby, I'm glad you skydive.... but I'd love you if all you did was cross-stitch.

ARE YOU KIDDING??? She was freakin' hot girl! I got wood just thinking about where the other 10lbs of beef franks were hiding! Mmmmm Tried to get Pam to undress up like that & get in our bath-tub.... but we didn't have enough hot-dogs *sigh* so we had to use those little Vienna sausages! LOL She didn't like it, said it was too slimy! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Thanks Kris, you know we wouldn't still be around there if everyone wasn't so damn cool. Seriously, everyone's been so helpful & taught us so much that I really couldn't imagine calling anywhere else our home! I used to hear stories of how hard it was to get anybody to jump with you after you get off student status, I have been very very fortunate not to have had to deal with that, and I see the same pattern starting with Pam too, now that she's starting to jump with other people! Thanks Kris, and anyone else from OSC that may be lurking. And April, girl... you know we luv ya! It really is pretty damn fun when you come up.... I'm just glad you actually got to jump some this time!

This is exactly how I pack my Sabre 190, and my openings consistently snivel for a mere 400-500 ft before opening. I love it & it makes your folds so much nicer, thereby easier to get in the bag! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

You're just fucking hilarious aren't you!?!?! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

ROFL - Yeah, talk about jealousy w/the two rigs... AND, of course I get to catch a bunch of shit from the guys at the DZ... "So, Merrick.. how many rigs do you have..... and how many does Pam have?!?!" Argh, KMA!!! lol I had a pretty great weekend myself.... aside from the kiss pass, which Pam kicked ass on that jump, I got my Falcon Award Saturday night with a group of skydivers that just moved out here from AZ. It was an incredible jump, we turned 6 rather difficult (well, for me anyway) points... (7 if you count the exit), and it was a beautiful sunset dive with a little bit of haze!

EXACTLY, Lay off you freakin' troll.... if what makes you cool is what you do for a living, then you must be what, an ummm.... Jr. High football coach or something. Wait, I know, you now work as a highway worker or on a litter crew & tell everyone who's willing to listen to it for the 1000nth time how you once scored the winning touchdown in that one game, against that peon class A school, in your senior year of high school.... "Man, those were the days huh?!?" Get a grip man, I'd much rather jump with somebody with a enough brains to be able to watch out for me & themselves while screaming toward the planet (and toward me) @ 120+ mph! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

I don't know if you saw these landing Pam, but I did this very same thing a couple months ago. My landings are very good (have stood-up all but 5 of my landings since I started jumping... knock on wood). On these particular jumps I started my flare directly into the wind, bled off my virticle speed, then at about 2 feet above the ground I started crabbing to the right (due to turbulence or whatever), my immediate reaction was to stick that right hand out to "catch myself." The result was a right hand nose dive into the ground. Needless to say I haven't done that since, and have actually learned to compensate in the other direction. I'm sure what the reason was because this was my first 2 jumps on a brand new jumpsuit. LOL "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

While I only have about 25 jumps on my current sabre, I have only had 2 semi-hard openings... I chalked both up to being that I hadn't completely come out of my tracks. Whack me once shame on you.... whack me twice, shame on me!!! in packing I roll the nose 4 & 4 & stuff into the center cell, quarter the slider then pull it out over the nose, then roll the tail tight!!! Seems to work pretty well! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Mmmm Hmmm......DYKES!!! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Alright dammit,...... Enough!!! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Yeah, that was a blast, & really helped me to nail my track, I finally felt that 'lift' on my max-track... it was bad-asssss! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Actually, it was 3 months! LOL Seriously man, I haven't set any benchmarks for high standards, just impossible ones! lol Your women can't possibly hold you to the same standard, simply because your women aren't Pam..... Not to dog on anybody's wife, girlfriend, sister, mother, whatever... but I have the best that the other half of the polulation has to offer, and I'm going to do the best I can for her.... Always!

LOL - Thanks, but I doubt that... cuz' every guy here knows that if that'd been a setup for someone 6' tall.... I'd be the proud owner of a new Mirage now! No, Pam truly is absolutely wonderful & deserves the best of everything, so when confronted with this deal, I just couldn't let it pass her by!

Alright you two, you're getting a little carried away..... I don't want to see anymore tattoo kissing goin' on! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Absolutely nothing, the mirage deal was just Waaaaayyy to good to pass up! We got the mirage, sabre, micro-raven reserve, about a $300 tony-suit, sapphire altimeter, pro-dytter, weight vest, and a few other items for very very cheap!!! It was an sweet deal, I just couldn't pass it up!

ROFL - yeah, that'd definitely be cool! Of course, most of the 4-ways I've been in so far usually ended up with all four of us chasing each other around the sky.... Which is great fun too! lol "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Yeah, thanks 'speedy!' I know I'm pretty lucky, but sometimes I think that Pam may have gotten the short end of the deal! lol Seriously, it truly is amazing to be able to share something so incredible with such an amazing woman.... a woman that I can happily call my 'wife!'

Hey Kris, I don't know how many 'dealers' make it common practice to hand out demos, but you might try Roy at Rigs-n-things. From what I hear, he's VERY helpful & sells things really cheap (new Heatwaves marked at $945). However, I've never actually dealt with him myself! Check it out http://www.para-service.com "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Let me see, advice time..... The best advice I can give you two, Brandon & Laura, is don't make your AFF course a competition! Pam & I started assuming that we would both sail through our IAD progression together, at the same pace. Well, one bridal wrap around the arm & a low-pull and she found herself a little behind me. She got a little frustrated a few times seeing me get to do all this new 'exciting' stuff, while she was doing clear-n-pulls, yet all she had to do was be patient & she'd get to do it as well! Just make sure you understand before you start that it's NOT a competition.... Brandon, Laura may sail past you why you have 5 L4 repeats... Laura, he may do the same. It doesn't matter as long as you both stick with it. The most satisfying part of it all is that you know you will one day get to jump with each other & that makes it that much more special! Pam & I were supposed to FINALLY get to do that this weekend, but looks like weather is gonna' put a stop to that, I think I was more excited to do that than anything else I've got to do thus far. Just promise each other before you start that you won't compete with each other, and if one of you finds yourself behind the other, relax..... and arch! I think one of the most effective motivational quotes that I've ever heard was a smart-assed comment from a low-timer at our DZ, he said, *whiney sarcastic voice* "Ahhhh... so you have to make another skydive!" Ain't it true.... even a bad day skydiving (that you don't get hurt at that is) is better than a good day doing anything else! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

ROFL - What are you laughing at??? I've seen YOUR jumpsuit! Mmmm Hmmm "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

Yeah, Pam & I have seen Shawn fly his skytubes, and Kris made our jumpsuits (GotchaCovered). We both got high quality, durable (right Pam ) CUSTOM jumpsuits for about $60 cheaper than the big boys.... I know $200 (or however much they're charging) seems like a lot for their tubes, but there's a TON more hardware that goes into the tubes than a jumpsuit & take just as long to make, & you couldn't get a custom jumpsuit for much cheaper than that. Plus, they can put a custom logo on it for you as well, can't beat that. btw: They also make static sails & windsocks for anyone that's looking. We actually have some pics of these we could scan if anyone's interested! "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick

When I was racing Motorcross, I remember seeing a T-shirt that says "It don't hurt 'till the bone shows!".... but I don't know if it had anything actually "motorcycle" related on it! I found it on an online catalogue if your interested... it says that there's a smaller logo on the front, so you might ask what that is! http://www.denniskirk.com/asp/detail2.asp?PartNo=359301SHIRTS&ProdType=02&SubProdType=shirts&Name=Search&MultiDim=N "Grab the grass, it's the bounce that kills!" Merrick