dmitch31

Check out this thread on another forum that has published a poem written by Steve. It's very moving. As I read the poem, I wonder when he wrote it, but there's no date. One poster makes reference to having read it about a week before Steve passed on. I wonder if he wrote it that very recently. It's almost like he knew it was his time to go. http://www.smilinjack.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=001210 He was a great guy. One of the nicest people at Quantum. I can remember him being friendly enough to talk to me the first time I ever went out to the dz. I've never forgotten him for that. EDIT: Actually, I just found a post on the web that credits Steve for having written this poem for a colleague that passed away several years ago: http://or2.tripod.com/Jim_McGheeTribute.txt

Have they setup a website? If not, I'm a web programmer and would be happy to assist or consult (gratis).

My point regarding how the attorney and his client came together is: "We don't know." "I don't know." Whether you like it or not, YOU don't know either. There's no point expressing "opinions" (as you call them) about something which you have no way of knowing any of the facts. Call Mrs. Delacroix and ask her if the attorney instigated it or not and then you "might" have grounds to express an opinion about what you actually know to be true. Otherwise it's just all worthless conjecture that gets people all worked up for no good reason. I'm willing to admit that I don't know, but you think you know this guy's motives, method of operation, what communication has transpired, etc., when you really don't. You can fan the flames of a thread where everybody is being led to think/say "he's an ambulance chaser", "the body wasn't even cold", "this guy deserves to be hurt really really bad", etc. And what it all boils down to is just a bunch of bullshit and a bunch of skydivers demonstrating that they jump to conclusions and pass judgment when they clearly couldn't possibly be aware of the facts of what actually transpired. It makes us all start looking like a bunch of morons. That's my beef with it. It's best to refrain from commenting when you don't know the facts, ESPECIALLY when it comes to judging other people and their motives. I wouldn't appreciate it if you did it to me, and you wouldn't appreciate it if I did it to you. I can't tell you not to do it, but I am trying to tell you I think it's not a good idea and generally not helpful for anyone.

With all due respect, what you can imagine has nothing to do with this. And for that matter, finding an attorney fast is easy. We live in a very technologically advanced age. All they would have to do would be to place a call to their own attorney and pay them to do the research for them. I wouldn't assume that Victoria's parents spent hours trying to find an attorney that specializes in aviation cases. Again, what is believable to you and what "you think" means nothing as well. We all decide what we want to believe. It's subjective. Either you've called the psychic friends hotline, or you've just decided that you want to work up a bunch of negative emotional energy toward some people you've never met in a situation in which you have no way of knowing how an arrangement was made. Generating angst towards this attorney is pointless, especially when you've decided that "you know" how he operates. Give us a break. OK, now that remark right there was just ignorant.

Has no one considered the possibility that Victoria's parents contacted the attorney themselves? It makes logical sense. He's in the area and he's done these types of lawsuits before. I'm not an attorney and I'm not related to one, but unless one of you has a crystal ball, then we don't know how their business arrangement came about. I was at lunch today with a co-worker who told me that he had heard about this lawsuit on the news. I hadn't heard about it yet, but I said, "I bet it's the parents of the girl from England." Reason I said that is because I heard an interview on the radio with Victoria's mother. It struck me that she did not sound weepy or emotionally distraught at all. Rather, she sounded very angry and terse. She made a comment that made me roll. She said, and I'm quoting here exactly, "this was so unnecessary." And I'm thinking NECESSARY??!!!? What does necessary have to do with it?? It was an accident. Accidents are never necessary. Her choice of words made it sound like she thought it was almost intentional. It just struck me weird. More thoughts... I've signed the waiver at Quantum, and it says on there that you waive the right to sue even if something goes wrong that is due to the negligence of the DZ or staff. Just a point of information. I don't know a whole lot about the legal system, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. The NTSB report is key right now. There's no way for Victoria's parents or their lawyer to know who is responsible, thus knowing who to name in the lawsuit... that is unless they've got a crystal ball too...

Dave was the coolest! He was the first person I met when I went out to Quantum to do my first Tandem. We walked up and he was there packing his chute after a jump. He was the first to walk up with a smile and talk to us. I've never forgotten that.

There is a RW video on skydivingmovies.com that is one of the coolest videos I've seen, and it has some absolutely beautiful scenery too. The filename is FilmCuba.mpeg and can be found here: FilmCuba The reason I'm posting this is because the video just cuts off in the middle. I would like to use this vid in a presentation that I'll be making to some would-be skydivers, but I can't use it like that. Does anyone know who made this video or where it came from? I would like to contact them and see if I could get the whole video. That's not to mention that I would personally enjoy seeing all of it. If anyone knows anything, let me know. Thanks, dmitch31

Yeah, he was waving off so in case one of them was above him they could take a little extra time to track out of the way!

When doing a search through the forums, you can select an individual forum if you should want to search just that particular forum. However, the incidents forum does not appear in the list. I know it used to be in the list, because I can remember searching just the incidents forum some months ago It would be great to have it back.

QuoteTie your legstraps together with a pull up cordQuote I don't know who "Go_Higher" is, but if he's a "He", then this idea might not be greeted with much enthusiasm.

So how do I find a dealer that "knows Tony Suits"? I don't anticipate finding one close to where I live...

I'll share my experience with AFF (which I'm not through yet) and the student rigs. My first jump went really well. I pulled, chute opened, no discomfort or anything. I thought, "well, that was easy." So, I think I got a little too overconfident for my second jump. On the second jump, I waved off, pulled, and SLAM! The insides of my legs were hurting, and I could hardly deal with it on the way down. I was just thinking, "get me down from here so I can get out of this harness!" I had intended on doing two AFF jumps that day, and we didn't have time, but had we had time, there would have been no way I would've gotten in a harness again that day. I was hurting too badly. However, I feel that the reason I got slammed and hurt the second time is because I was overconfident from my first jump and I slightly de-arched and pulled the PC in a less than optimal position. With this in mind, I did AFF3. This time I was very deliberate about waving off in a very controlled fashion, reaching back to grab the PC handle while I was carefully maintaining my arch, looking at the horizon and keeping my shoulders square and level. Threw out the PC and brought my right arm around front maintaining level shoulders, and I had a very smooth and comfortable opening. I'm not a big fan of student rigs either, but I think that perhaps the rigs get blamed for uncomfortable openings when the issue very well may not be the rig. When you're doing AFF, you really don't know very well what you're doing, and you haven't had time to develop good habits yet, so the only help I could offer would be to be extra deliberate about good form and body position when you are deploying your chute. Hopefully that will go a long way toward making your opening more comfortable until you get through AFF. Good luck. I'll be trying to do the same as I work through my AFF jumps as well! Dave

I've been working through filling out the forms for the Swoop Suit. Do I order this directly from TonySuits, or do I send the forms to a dealer/distributor? I suppose that if I ordered through a dealer I could speak to that person to get some of my questions answered regarding filling out the rest of the form. Dave

Well, there'll be no ordering any TonySuits for a bit. I was going to use some of my "Christmas gift for self" money to go ahead and order a Swoop Suit. Well, I called TonySuits to ask a couple of questions, and they are closed for the holidays until January 5th or 6th! Oh well. I guess we've all got to learn to delay gratification right? I just hope I can order it and get it in a reasonable amount of time for the Tunnel Camp that I want to go to in Orlando. I was hoping to go in February or March. Looks like the February Tunnel Camp is probably out of the question at this point. What experiences has anyone had ordering a TonySuit without the RUSH option, and how long did it take you to get it? I would prefer not to do that if I didn't have to. The suit I've configured is costing enough as it is without having to tack on another $40. Dave

Oh my gosh, you are slayin' me man! Definitely ROFL!!! What I wanna know is, How did this guy get through law school. I mean REALLY???!?