I want to personally thank Jason Bell and Tom Aiello for having the courage and wisdom to contact me. I know it was hard for each of them to do because we seemingly were at great odds. Jason contacted me last night and Tom and I talked this evening. I am sure that most of you know that my son, Brian, was killed at the Perrine on June 15th, 2002 when his pilot chute failed to inflate. It has been an extremely difficult 16 months for our family. We have all been through the many stages of loss and grieving and have not even come close to being able to move on as some of you have suggested. I have primarily been the spokesperson for the family; but you need to know that we are all in agreement on what we want and how to proceed. I have on several occasions posted on the BASE Board and had hoped that we would be able to find a sense of healing if the readers of the post would just allow us to do so. That is not your fault, it is ours for thinking that such a thing would work. The issues are so emotionally charged that it was impossible for us to achieve such healing. We have had our ups and downs; but none of us have felt good about how Brian's death was viewed and accepted in your community. Again, that is perhaps due to our differences in the perception of this sport. Contrary to what some people were trying to accomplish with their negative comments to me and my family, you actually pushed certain buttons that made me want to lash out and hurt the BASE jumping community. That is not what I wanted to do from the beginning. I shared with all of you what I wanted and that is for Brian's death to have had some meaning. To that end, Jason and now Tom have agreed to help me and my family achieve our goal of bringing meaning to Brian's death. We have all agreed that it is ok to disagree; but we have agreed in concept that we will accomplish a goal that will be mutually beneficial to my family, give Brian some recognition, and possibly improve safety for the BASE jumping community while retaining the ability to jump at the Perrine. I explained to both Jason and Tom, that if the BASE jumping community will work with me, I pledge that I will work with them. But, I also explained that negative comments just tend to add to my hurt and anger and are counterproductive for all concerned. You need to appreciate that I lost my son - that is something that you will never understand unless it happens to you. I will do whatever I think is morally right to accomplish my goals and it appears that at least these 2 BASE jumpers agree that something can be done to enhance the safety of BASE jumpers at the Perrine and ultimately save a life. Some could argue that any regulation is bad. That is not currently up for debate. It is now up to us to exact a plan that elicits approval of the City of Twin Falls while giving great deference to the BASE jumper. Rest assured, BASE jumpers will have significant influence in any regulation imposed. I will close for now and also ask for your cooperation as well. Time has come for something to happen - will you be a part of the solution or a part of the problem? I think given the fact that you will be fully represented by your respected peers, I can only hope you will be a part of the solution. Thank you for reading this post and once again thanks to Jason and Tom. Sincerely, Wayne Stout
