Rondo

Thanks for the welcome, Andrea. It does this old heard good to see that skydiving ladies are still as lovely as ever. All you young guys out there: I hope you realize how lucky you are! ;-) Pat

Hello Everyone, I found this website a few days ago, and have enjoyed reading the posts, and responding to a few. Looks like this is turning into a cyberplace I'll probably be visiting frequently in the future, so I guess I better check in at the manifest and warn people of my presence on the DZ. My name is Pat Regan. I made my first jumps during a hitch with the Marines between 69 and 71; and got into sport parachuting in California after that. My nickname was Rondo (long story), and some people even gave me the dubious honor of calling me "Captain Rondo" after I became a jump pilot. (Jumpers will do anything to schmooze you out of extra altitude!) I was a product of dope-rope training; remember when parachutes were round, Paracommanders were hot, and Domina Jalbert was trying to convince people they needed little triangular air-rakes ("flares") on the underside of square canopies. Not tootin' my own horn here, just trying to provide a frame of reference as to where I'm coming from. I remember Norton and Haley, and others of the KNOW-SENSE CRW team. I bought Steve's rainbow Strat to finance his trip to the Turkey Meet in Florida where they showed CRW to the World. Still have that rig and (after I lose some weight) plan on jumping it again. (See attached picture). I really loved my involvement with skydiving. We had a saying: "Skydivers have more fun than people." It's true. Some of the best times of my life happened on dropzones; and some of the VERY best I am no longer able to remember, so you KNOW they were good! ;-) The good times and amazing happenings I do remember would fill a book; and I've often thought about writing one. Maybe some day.... What I remember most are the people I had the pleasure and privelege of meeting, jumping with, and partying with too. I wonder where they are now. If anyone out there reading this remembers me: "No be shy! Say Hi!" I remember good times and bad: people that lived to tell about it, and others who didn't. I saw radical changes in equipment and techniques, and recall the chances we took (sometimes unknowingly) while those advancements were being developed. The good thing about all that is I know I'm not alone; there are many others who remember those days, too. Those were incredible times, weren't they? But my fondest memories of all are the ladies of skydiving. I guess you could say I "got lucky" a lot. I want you all to know I remember each and every one of you, and treasure what we shared even if it was only for eight hours one night. (My other nickname was "The Marathon Man".) You were all great! If there are any little Rondos running around out there that I don't know of, I'd like to hear about it. You gotta pay for the DNA test, though! ;-) Anyway, I'm happily married now (to an ex-jumper, of course), but if there's anyone out there I helped get their Mile High Pin, why not shoot me an E for old times sake? And of course, if there's any of my old jumping / drinking buddies out there, same-same. Give me a holler. We'll talk old times. I like to participate on internet forums when I have time. As a qualified old fart, I have some tales to tell that might astound, educate, and entertain. If you guys like, I could post some of them here from time to time. I know you kids are all busily living life at warp speed, and that's the way it should be. But if you ever slow down for a moment and want to hear about "the old days", let me know. Peace, Love, and Nylon Overcast, Pat

First, as an old-timer who's been out of touch for a while, I just wanna say I'm having a wonderful time reading some of the clever new sayings skydivers have adopted. That was always part of the fun, I thought. I really love this one: "The sky's not the limit; the DIRT is." BAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! Far packin' out! ;-) Anyway, to the subject of this thread: I think I'd be pissed if I frapped and nobody took pictures. I know I'd be pissed if there wasn't a rousing BLUE SKY call over brewskies that night. Having been on the clean-up crew myself, I'd feel badly for those guys. But I've always known that, when the moment of my "final surprise" ultimately arrives, I'm probably going to flash-review my life in an instant and die wondering, "What in the hell was that all about, anyway?" ;-)

Uhhh...I read the explaination about the "Keep On Truckin'" character being called the "Boogie Man"... And I read the reference to the "Keep on Truckin'" character being called "Mr. Natural"... and all that's wrong, I'm sorry to say. Yes, the character was the creation of cartoonist R. Crumb, but Mr. Natural was that little fat bald guy in a robe and sandals that was known for tossing feces at people,and saying things like, "Mr. Natural sez GO F**K YOURSELF!" The "Keep On Truckin'" character we see striding along with one big foot stuck out in front was actually called THE DOO-DAH MAN. He achieved additional acclaim in the Grateful Dead's song, "TRUCKIN'". "Truckin...got my chips cashed in, Truckin, like the Doo-Dah man..." So I've gotta wonder about this claim that BOOGIE came from the explaination I've read in the forum defining the origins of same. I recall it being derived from a phrase back in the 70's that people used a lot: "let's get down and boogie." It implied "getting it on with great gusto" so to speak; and that got applied to skydiving scrambles because they were events where people met for a couple days of high-activity interaction. I know we all probably have something we think we invented; but it's not unusual to be surprised to learn that most social trends have ambiguous origins, and the exact moment of original conception might be impossible to find later on down the road. Like me, for example. I was damn sure I invented sex; only to find out all I really did was popularize it amongst a LOT of women on various California dropzones, and it had actually been going on for a long time before that. ;-) The World is a big place, and it's hard to say who invented what / when sometimes. More likely, people become aware of when a certain trend became popular amongst their circle of associates, and in the absence of other information, believe that's where it actually started. And if opinions like that continue long enough, they oftentimes become accepted as fact by subsequent generations. So, are the origins of the use of the term "BOOGIE" relative to skydiving what we really think they are? Maybe. Or maybe not. After all, it was a long time ago............ Pat Regan Yumper, Yump Pilot, Original "Boogie Till You Puke" Honoree, Barehanded Wolf Chokers and Pterodactyl Breeders Association Member, Survivor of the Green Star Express, once met somebody who knew somebody famous, yattada, yattada, yattada, ad infinitum. ;-) Peace out, brothers and sisters! Love to live, live to love. EFS forever!

Yup. Thanks Keith. Pat

Thanks for the spot, bud. What about Marty? He up there or doing his own thing somewhere else?

Thanks for the reply. No, I was a jump pilot at Antioch a couple years before that when Bill and the family came from Colorado and bought the operation from Perry Stevens. Flew for the Jonses for a while. Lost track of them and last I heard they went to Perris. Anybody know where the Jonses are now? Still active? Kind of like to know what happened to them. Thanks, Rondo

I remember years ago hearing that Bill Jones and family were running the Perris Valley DZ. Do they still run it? Who owns / runs Perris Valley DZ these days? If that sounds out-of-touch, I aint even on the continent no mo. Rondo

I remember Lee Wilcox (Livermore Club) jumped an orange 'Dactyl a lot. His landings were always nice. It just had a really short effective flare range. You really had to know precisely how, when, and where to flare. But Lee had it down. Nice gentle standups every time I saw him land it, anyway. Never saw him auger once.

Low passes, eh? Hmmm....lemmesee.... There was the time at Pope Valley when the lead pilot (a guy who was also part of Mirror Image and whose name you'd recognize, so I aint gonna mention it here) got told "This is your last flight in the DC3" and showed his displeasure by dropping the load, and then standing the old gooney bird on it's nose and holding it there so long everyone thought sure he was gonna leave an aluminum-plated crater in the runway; only to pull out at the last second and come so close to the buildings people swear his swoop pulled shingles off the roof of the bunkhouse! Moral of the story? Always fire your pilot AFTER he lands! Then there was a little guy who used to fly the Eagle Aero Service Twin Beech at Yolo who enjoyed cutting the high grass in the middle of the field with his prop tips. He was pretty good at it. Same guy was flying one day while practicing low altitude cargo drops for the great Indian Airlift...To simulate dropping seabags, somebody thought it was a good idea to drop a large truck tire in the middle of the airport. Sucker hit hard, bounced, and kept right on rolling! Damn near took out a parked plane and a hanger wall! What were they thinking? And there was another guy who eventually flew for a couple dropzones in Cal...visited Antioch one day in a Piper Worryer rented from a Concord FBO...took off in mid afternoon and buzzed some of the KNOW SENSE people down in the peas on his way out. Came in so low over the adjacent field they didn't hear him coming; had to climb to clear the fence, flew DOWN INTO THE BOWL, had people flattening out in the gravel, and then climbed up and out following the contour of the Sugarloaf Hill WITH THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR THAT WAS TRAINING HIM FOR HIS CFI RATING IN THE RIGHT SEAT. Now, some of the original "Wild and Crazy Guys" of skydiving's barnstorming days saw that one and said it was the "best buzz job we ever saw." But a massive adrenalin rush might have had something to do with that appraisal. Of course, the names must be with-held to protect the not-so-innocent; but you get the idea. ;-)

Har! I remember Little David singing FRANCINE MACFILTHY one night at CM SOLIS' Water Jumps at Clear Lake California many moons ago. Glad to see your still up and trucking, bro. Seen Steve, Nealikins, Luke or any of the others? (I heard about Norton.) Anyway, here's a song I put together with a buddy of mine around the fireplace at the Antioch Sport Parachute Center back in the 70's while Perry still owned it. Enjoy! CUT AWAY (Below a Grand) By Pat "Captain Rondo" Regan and Lynn Clean (Sung to the tune of DIXIE.) Well I think my riggin' must be gettin' rotten, blew up like it was made of cotton! Cut away! Cut away! Cut away! Below a grand. Well my head-down dive was a real screamer dumped my main and it rolled up in a streamer Cut away! Cut away! Cut away! Below a grand. I best throw out my Lo-Po, Oh yeah! Oh Yeah! It aint real fast, but I'll save my ass with a 26-foot Lo-po! Away! Away! I really had to cut it! Away! Away! You know I had to cut it! (Instrumental melody and rythm on guitars to finish.) EFS Forever! Rondo

Heh! First day on the DZ and bustin the regs already! Just like the old days. Thanks for the spot, bro! And if anybody out there has info on this subject, please shoot me a kite. VBR, Rondo

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Just found this website. Was a jumper and pilot on a few DZ's in Cal back in the 70's and 80's. I have the custom-made double spectrum rainbow STRATO STAR and orange jumpsuit that Steve Haley used to pilot the World's first 8-Stack with the KNOW-SENSE PARACHUTE TEAM, as seen in the opening sequences of Carl Boenish's movie SKY DIVE. Was kind of wondering if anyone knew what happened to Robert "Norton" Thomas' Orange and Black striped Strat. Last I remember, I think Gus Evans had it. I'd like to track it down. Think it would be cool to put together a nostalgia dive getting these two rigs back together again. These were the chutes that started it all, back when Bill Dause first saw Norton and Haley chasing each others pilot chutes and remarked, "You guys aint got no sense." Anybody with information about these rigs, please send me an Email: [email protected] BLUE SKY!!!