skyjames

No shit, she is dead? pass the salt please an hour later we gather on the deck at the drop zone's cafe. The winds have kicked up again, so the beer light is turned on early. There would be no more jumping, she had made her last jump. I have a feeling she knew this ... this was closure. She was surrounded by friends, friends that had always been there for her. She says she can't believe how lucky she truly is. She says to us, "look at all of the unhappy people there are in this world ... people who never really find what they are looking for, they never find the missing element in their life, the one that will satisfy, the one that will make them feel whole. Christ, maybe they are just looking in the wrong place." No one speaks, Rita continues; "I mean, how rare is it a person actually succeeds in finding peace and belonging? How many people experience the comfort, the camaraderie the community, or all the bullshit that makes us laugh so hard? Who but us can understand our struggles, our dreams." "Shit, they either love you or hate you, but we aren't so different in the end. I know I ain't loved for my skydiving accomplishments, I have your love because of the simple fact ... I kept trying, I didn't quit." "I know I am one of the lucky ones. I have reached far beyond my abilities, I set a goal for myself, a very difficult one, and with all your help, and I mean all of you, I went on to reach my goal as best I could." "Nothing has ever come easy for me in this sport, and I know many of you begged me to give it up, I stuck with it. I found something rare, something precious." "I discovered a world where I can be accepted for just being me ... and for my efforts to become a better person." With the sun dipping below the horizon she looks around and says, "What a perfect end to another wonderful day, if I were to die tomorrow, "I would know ... I would know." "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

sigh .. I now know why she didn't answer my last tx msg. Of all the things said about Ritagirl, I truly beleive that she was all heart. She was a instructor exaiminer test drop dummy. That did not stop me from jumping with her. She was bad mouthed, called everything, water off a ducks back. That still did not stop me from jumping with her. She made a divot, both in the ground and in herself That stopped me from jumping with her until her last jump. Thing is she probably would have stuck to tandems and enjoyed them, but she wanted to be a skydiver. As bad at skydiving as she was, she was still a skydiver. I read some of the posts by others knocking her sense of reality, but in reality you could find no better true friend. You did not have to skydive to be her friend, skydiving was only part of her life. If you think profanity doesn't belong in this thread, then you really didn't know Ritagirl. Bozo, the kiss pass we did with her. according to her was her best jump ever, even thou we had iron grips on her. How fitting that her last jump was a "bun" tandem. see ya girl "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Quotelol, it's really sad that my first thought on seeing that article in the news wasn't "wow, that's neat" or "they should sell them for more" but rather "how the heck are they getting away with that?" ------------------------------ uhh... Wait a few years, then you will be able to buy a Genuine GM (Government Motors)vehicle for about the same price, then you can pull the trailer. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

oops, I forgot only one in 480 households are selected for this "census", so many peeps wouldn't have a clue about it. Thx for the link. Still, to much info for so little return. edit: This info is also used by local TV stations and business' to target (they spell it out in the survey) audiences. Be it a general or a specific target matters not, the information is not used solely for government use and according to the BOLD PRINT on the front I am required by LAW to respond. Just grabs my ass.... of course I could fill it in as many skydivers do during the elections for BOD..eg Micky Mouse etc... "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Anyone think the questions on the form cross the line? About the only thing they did not ask is when I last took a dump. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Did you do any of the vid's for Guy W jumps? Was it you who told me you wanted to turn some points at the fire rather than vid? I must be getting old, is it possible to do to many jumps , I was moving slower all week. :-) "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Call the issuer of the check and tell them. Possible they can stop payment. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

One entering town, one at ice carving/bonfire. AdobePSP was used to reduce sice, hope they show as I see them. **edit to say** I don't know how many towns would go to the effort to welcome skydivers, new one for me (cept Rantoul) "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

You planning on taking out (kill) the winner if you don't agree with them? "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

"these people" I assume since I took the hook (kinda) I am one of those people, so Let me 'splain Lucy. Should you have read my response correctly as bill obviously did, maybe an understanding the need for a road map (in my case) might be apparent. Then again, conversations I have had in the past with bill aren't apparent , but I am sure they exist in archives, somewhere between A/Z. Not DZ archives' > snipped bils rsponse and my Q (t in c) Simple answer is in my Q. I'm done. james "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Ok Bill, I'll bite. This doesn't follow most of your pro...pro something or other, so tell me; why are the people who done this dirty deed republicans? Not even an inquiring mind, but I love it when you go off on your band wagon, torch in hand...etc james "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

oops, doesn't need editing, my bad "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

The drive from Tampa to Z didn't look promising at 7:30 AM. Talked to a friend about 10AM on the cell and was told you'll get to jump between 11 and 2. 90% of the time I hate it when he is correct. Thanks to the tandems, load 1 and 2 went up 'tween that time span. Made 'em both. Not a bad rainy 4th at all. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Bumper sticker I saw at the DZ last w/e... "I'm not against God, it's his cheering section I hate" or sumptin like that. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Is that thing battery operated? off subject.. I read something a few days ago about termite bees in some northern state. Must be global warming..... "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

The real answer is they can't afford skate boards, so they make do with what they have. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Funny you mentioned NY :) http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/editorials/MGB509SMUYE.html I think the op-ed was written by a reporter from the London Times, but I tossed the paper. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

[replyAfter the SB179 crapola I decided I wouldn't get irate at any DZ owner, just vote with my feet and wallet. -------------------------------------------- "SB179 crapola?" SB179 (if you're referring to the Utah Senate Bill that passed last week, #SB179, that bill supports dropzones specifically in preventing municipalities from being sued due to an incident on municipal property, or airport in the State of Utah) has nothing to do with Skyride. I think you've got a couple subjects confused? Nevada/Senate sessions, SB179. Finalized in NRS498 Old news, ppl forget old stuff. Hoping sr will just become old news at some point in time. I like Utah's SB179 now that I know about it, thx "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

I apologize for not reading 2000+ posts, seems others posted the same info earlier in this thread. As far as Utah is concerned, good on the DZ owners there. After the SB179 crapola I decided I wouldn't get irate at any DZ owner, just vote with my feet and wallet. I do have a new home DZ because of "SR" coupon acceptance. To bad, the old one was a lot closer. At any rate, that's what I did about skyride. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Changing content on a web site is one way for META tag readers (spiders eg) to keep websites in the forefront on web searches. Changes may be viewed as updates. Maybe not smart in this case, but profitable. Remember, the only reason these ppl are successful is DZ's accept their cupons. Ask your DZ if they accept them. "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Andrés Segovia, Kazuhito Yamashita, Tuck Andress Many rock players I like have been mentioned. Who (are) my favs :) "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

Got 18 seconds to waste? Waste 'em here. http://tinyurl.Com/56t9u "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

STOP NAMING SITES dammit! "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james

"Out of curiosity, how do you rate Moore's chances of winning? " He has a better chance of winning than Kinky Freeman has of winning in Texas and Kinky has better quotes me thinks ... such as... "They ain't makin' Jews like Jesus no more" "exit fast, fly smooth, dock soft and smile" 'nother james