Byron03

Tecumseh or Midwest are your best bets from Birmingham. I think Midwest has a PAC 750 this week, but I would still recommend Tecumseh. We have a ton of freefliers, great parties, places camp, showers, etc., etc. Did I mention great parties? This weekend we also have freefly organizing by Matty Wright at Tecumseh. I live in Troy (just east of Birmingham) let me know if you need a ride to the DZ or anything. People will be showing up on the DZ on Thursday or Friday and staying all weekend. Anyway the two websites are: http://midwestfreefall.com and http://www.skydivemichigan.com Hope that helps. Brian

Here, Jeff. I am posting in your thread just to make you f*cking happy. I guess, I just prefer to reply to people I actually know in real life. Brian

7 more days.... Brian

Does Sporto know about this 'wonderful' boyfriend you have? Happy belated B-Day!

Yep, I'm done with my vacation and wuffo stuff, so I should be on the DZ tomorrow morning sometime. Brian

If you need a driver or ground crew, let me know. Brian

Haha. You were studying. We were jumping. Hope you are having a good time.

I did a one day tour group thing in Pompeii last February. It is definitely cool to see. I would recommend some kind of guided tour of the ruins. Because honestly, without the guide talking I wouldn't have had much of a clue what I was seeing. The tour guide I was with, gave us some free time to explore on our own also. I didn't get to see much of Naples, just stopped for a meal there. But it looked, uhh...interesting. As we drove through it I could see there were some pretty nice parts. And there were some very crappy parts. The city looked to be about the right size, that a long weekend could cover all of it. If your interested in the tour group name I can find it later and PM you. Have a good trip, post pictures.

This book is not specifically about skydiving, but talks a lot about the mindset of people who survive. But more importantly the psychology of how they get themselves into the situation in the first place. Many of the stories in the book are about people participating in "extreme" sports like rock climbing, white water rafting, ocean sailing, etc. I would definitely recommend it to other skydivers who want to learn about risk, decision making under pressure, ways of thinking to avoid getting into survival situations, and ways to recognize the situation you are in so you can back out before you are committed. Not only a good subject, but very well written. "Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why" Laurence Gonzales http://search.barnesandnoble.com/BookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=2V10bY0AvW&isbn=0393326152&itm=1

Liz your avitar just gave me an idea on how to solve J's problem. J, what you need to do is through a huge party. Invite all the skydivers in the area. Ignore Chrissy, bring out the biggest crack pipe you can find. Drunken skydivers will be way crazier, louder and scarier than any ghost hanging around.

(Bold added) These were concepts that were bought up during my 1st jump class. Then I was told this again, later on that day. Again, the next day when I was getting ready to jump. Again when my instructors and I were going over the dive on the way to altitude. Again when we were reviewing the basics and going over the dive plan for the 2nd jump... I think these are good things to teach students, and remind them again and again. It may seem redundant, it may seem like we're trying to scare students, it may seem like we're dwelling on a morbid subject, but when you are a student you need these verbal reminders. Everybody that skydives will eventually see friends hurt, hear about people dying, hear all kinds of 'No shit there I was, thought I was going to die...' stories. And when I hear these things, I am reminded the most basic thing that I was taught in my 1st jump course: skydiving is dangerous. I don't remember when it was posted here (probably in 'History and Trivia'), but I remember reading: "People used to think that once you left the plane you were dead, unless you do something about it. Nowadays people think: when you leave the plane you'll be fine...unless you do something about it." It's a good thing that for the most part skydiving is worth it!

I'm going to try to make it there tomorrow, but I'm not sure what to bring. Any suggestions? Unfortunately I don't cook (for reasons of personal laziness) and I am working tonight until 11 and tomorrow until 3. What would people like, that I might be able to bring?

Tell him I said 'High', oops I mean 'Hi', and I hope he feels better soon.

Don't forget to put something in this story for us lurkers!

I was thinking about heading out there some time Sunday. Give me a call if you are heading that way too.