Ira

Hey 2wheel, You did the tandem and the first static line. You are well on your way. Don't get mad, you jumped, listened to your radio and landed safely. Good Jump. Did you have fun? I am going to guess from seein you after the tandem that the answer is a big smiling yes. Keep jumping and you will soon be back in the caravan for coach jumps. Cya out there soon.

Yup, here is a link: http://www.news-gazette.com/story.cfm?Number=15635

The local papers around Rantoul are reporting that the WFFC has not signed its contract with the city and the city must have a signed copy by April 1 to begin construction. Now the City is getting annoyed by the lack of the contract and some are voicing that they shouldn't have it. FYI.

Saturday is the Mardi Gras parade and basically giant party in St. Louis. Come on down, St. Louis will be hopping this weekend. Take a look at this http://www.mardigrasinc.com/ That will give you an idea of the parade and post parade activities. There will be lots of beverages, beads, and general fun. Have a good time.

How about PT109 Sands of Iwo Jima The Guns of Navrone Just adding some more to the list. They can't win because the agegroup on DZ.com is a little young for many of these.

If you are doing S/L and have 11 jumps, you could be past the Practice Rip Cord Pulls and into your first free falls. If you did the progression without repeating anything, you should be somewhere around your 20 sec delays?? At this point, you could be close to moving to the higher jumps with a coach. Why are you considering switching to AFF?

The Rantoul Press reported today that the Rantoul city council met on Monday and approved a 5 year contract with the WFFC. I have a copy being mailed to me and will post the article once I get a chance to scan it.

According to the Rantoul Press (this weeks edition), the lawsuit involving the jumper killed by the Helicopter has been dismissed. They also had a bit in there about a possible 5 year contract for the WFFC to be in Rantoul. The only kicker was a possible added $10 fee to help pay for police, water, electricity for the event.

Everyone needs to take a look at the whole situation. People are jumping to conclusions without all of the information and the advice being given frankly is a bit offending. Let me start by saying that Archway is my home DZ and I have never felt unsafe with anything done there. On the contrary, I am extremely confident in their safety record and the quality of the staff. Here are some facts that posters aren't aware of: Archway has a Waiver of the wind BSR and has for 10 years, people are jumping to conclusions without knowing this. The regional director of the USPA resides at Archway. If the S&TA and the regional director don't have a problem then just maybe they and their 8000+ combined jumps were a bit more aware of the situation than some of the people who have posted in this thread. I personally know they won't let a student jump in unsafe winds. I was on a 182 load with a student and landed with the plane because the winds changed on the ride to altitude and were questionable for the student. I would encourage Dan to speak to the staff members at Archway. They can answer the questions he has and let him know why he experienced what he did. They are also going to be his instructors and jumpmasters over the next 20+ jumps and it will help him to get to know them and the fact that they are very good at what they do. Everyone needs to look at Dereks Sig line. It says "Think" well in this situation a lot more people need to act on that advice. Before jumping to a conclusion and making a new jumper more nervous with the unfounded statements to find a new DZ, THINK. Do you know all the facts? If you don't, then don't jump to a conclusion and give advice that isn't justified. Ira

Medic, Sorry I missed that this weekend. Get that reserve repacked and ready to play for next weekend. Hopefully mother nature is kind to the Chili Party. Ira

An XBox. Which has turned out to be just an expensive DVD Player.

The scariest part of the whole friggin thing is the word Cancer. You truly can't imagine how frightening that word is till the doc sits you down and says it to you. Everyone thinks it is one of those things that other people get. Just let em know they aren't alone and you can beat it!! 14 months post surgery for me and all tests negative. Sending Vibes Ira

Aunt Bunny drives the Gooney Goo Goo Mobile. And the kids stuck their heads in the water for 2 minutes came up with Fish and said Gooney Goo Goo. I have the Audio CD of the show, it is hilarious.

Dan, I jump at Archway every weekend. If you have questions, find anyone in a Staff T-shirt and they will gladly answer your questions. The Staff at Archway is great and always willing to help you. If you want to learn how to pack, there is a sign up sheet to the right of Manifest on the bulletin board. As to if I trust the packers. I sure do. They did a great job for me while I was working on my license. Have fun, Ira

I have this performance on CD and frequently listen to it on the way to the DZ. Sooo Many funny parts.... IceCream man is great. Aunt Bunny is falling down the stairs again... freaking hilarious. And the backyard BBQ with the great line. Now That's a Fire!!!! Roll little Charlie around... he be alright