chicagoskydiver

We had a girl (tandem student) freak out last year at Skydive Illinois and it was caught on video...lol! Kris Bagwell was the tandem master. There was a four way group going out in front of her. She was calm until that group exited and then she freaked because she thought they got sucked out! LMAO!! She grabbed the walls and screamed repeatedly "I'm not going! I'm not going! No! I'm not going!" Kris got her calmed down and out they went. Down on the ground she said "I can't believe it did it!" to which the video guy replied "Neither can I!" LMAO!!!! Hackey

I wish I could, Brian. I just bought a house and it's taking most of my time and money right now. Even now, I have a list of projects to do about as long as my arm. A skydiver with priorities....what a concept! LOL! By the way, it's great to hear from you! I hope things are going great for you in Florida! I'll never forget when you came to see me in the ER after I busted my ankle while on student status. Thanks also to everyone else for your kind words. Ann, if I don't get to see you when you come this way, I'll be very disappointed and you bet we're gonna do a jump together! Wild horses couldn't keep me away from that! Well, I guess this sport is a permanent part of me no matter what. I may have other priorities, but it will be there. Hackey

I had promised a friend of mine a while back that when she was ready to do her first tandem I would go out to the dz with her. Well, she decided that yesterday was the day, and as promised, I went out to the dz (Skydive Illinois). Since I was there I said wtf and did a recurrency jump. Of course, I got the comments I expected like "What are you doing here? I thought you quit!" and " Yeah, right you quit! You quit my ass!" Of course they welcomed me with open arms. I was kind of nervous about it. I thought I would be really stiff and buffeting and that I would totally blow it. Then on the ride to altitude I thought "You know what? WTF!! If I blow it, I blow it! I'm just gonna have some fun!" Of course, I was with a JM. The exit was perfect and I flew great, actually better than I did on my last jump back in January. Came down for a nice stand up landing. Man, did it feel great! Maybe I'll do one every once in a while to stay current. Ok everyone, let's hear it! I told ya so, right? Hackey

I actually saw this printed on a bag of peanuts on an airplane...."directions: Open bag, eat nuts." Now there's a big DUH for ya! Hackey

Ann, I am so happy for you! This is wonderful, wonderful news!!! Like Zennie said, good karma and good vibes come back to you. This just shows that your friends are here for you.....like the Beatles once said..."I get by - with a little help from my friends". Now all we need to do is find you a job and you're all set! Hackey

reefer Hackey

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention....the seller also left me a weber grill...and i LOVE to barbecue!!! We already have a housewarming party date tentatively set....May 25. We'll combine the housewarming with my birthday which is May 23. The seller also left me a ping pong table in the basement! Bonus! I was thinking of later getting a pool table or foosball table. This is gonna be fun! Any of you coming up for nationals or summer fest let me know! I can play host to a few people or more. Hackey

What do you mean? My posts are always about something impotent! Oh......oops....you said "important"...never mind. Hackey

Actually, for the Chicago area people, it's in Morton Grove, just four blocks from my daughter's school, Niles West High School. So she can start walking instead of me driving her and I can sleep in a little! Yeah! Here's a pic of the back porch. Hackey

I had my lasik done over a year ago and they're right...it does gradually get better. What really amazed me is I was able to drive my car without glasses later that same night. I tested out at 20/25 after one week. It's gotten better since then. In the beginning, I saw "halos" around lights at night and my vision was a little erratic, sometimes a little better, sometimes a little worse. It will get better. After a while, you won't even think about the days you used to have to deal with glasses or contacts. The nice thing for me is it was covered by my insurance at work and I didn't pay a cent for it! Congrats on your "new eyeballs" lol! Hackey

Thanks ! In the Chicago area, especially in the city, (my house is in the burbs) almost everything is brick. I think that's because almost all contruction after the Chicago fire was brick, plus the city is sitting on bedrock which is high in clay content...good for making bricks and supporting skyscrapers. Hackey

I closed on the house last week...on the same day speedracer was closing on his. Right now, we're busy cleaning, refinishing floors and cabinets and painting in preparation to move in. The seller was really cool...he left the lawnmower, hoses, shovels, ladders, snowblower, edger, basically everything I need, even some lawn furniture and some cabinets in the basement. I won't have to buy much. I've attached a picture here...we're gonna make some changes to it though. For example, I'm gonna paint that ugly green hand railing black and replace that ugly front door. Hackey

Slappie! It's your birthday? Damn! Happy birthday to you too bro! Another year closer to being eligible for your POPS membership! LMAO!!!! Hackey

Her birthday is actually tomorrow (the 3rd). Happy birthday Airann! Hackey

Ann is a great human being and if any of us was in the same situation, she would do the same for us. If anyone deserves our help, it's Ann. I know many of you will go to the drop zone on a Saturday and drop $60 on jumps and not bat an eye. So how about if you could sacrafice just one day of skydiving. For the price of three jump tickets, or one reserve repack, you can help out a friend who truly needs and deserves our help. Most skydivers have hundreds, if not thousands, of jumps. What's so bad about sacraficing a few jumps? If we all did this, we could save Ann's house. So let's get together and help our sister! Hackey

You may have not said it directly or used the word "conspiracy", but it certainly could have been interpreted that way. I'm not getting on your case or anything, because anyone could have made that mistake, I have many times. Sometimes you have to choose your words carefully. For example, you could have said that they didn't want to say anything until all the facts are clear or that it was too soon to speculate. Saying they want to keep it "hush hush" smacks of coverup, which I'm very sure that's not what they were doing. Hackey

Umm...excuse me? I was 17 in 1984! If that makes me old, I guess that means I'll spend about 60% of my life being old. I don't think so! lol Hackey

2 way is cool but 3 way is pretty cool too! Oops, uh ....you're talking about skydiving? Never mind! Hackey

If you want top notch instruction, SDC is the place. The fact that they video tape all the jumps is an added bonus and helps tremendously in the learning process because you can see exactly what you're doing wrong. As far as the distance, I would just plan to go there Saturday morning, camp out overnight, and return Sunday evening. It wouldn't be worth it to go back home and then come back the next day....too much driving! Plus, you'll get to know the jumpers there better by the bonfire!! Hackey

The longer you go, the easier it gets. I quit using the nicotine patch...which is ok since it's not the nicotine that's bad for you, but it is what keeps you hooked. I think the most important thing is to take it a day at a time. Don't think about quiting forever, just think about making it to the end of each day. Good luck! Hackey

May 23 - Gemini Hackey

I got a six. So I guess I'm pretty harmless - muuuaaahahahahaha!!!! Hackey

Congrats to you too bro! This is also my first house that I've owned...so...BEER!!! I'll have plenty of that at my housewarming party, although I really prefer hard liquor. And I'm not leaving the sport behind forever...i prefer to think of it as taking some time off....although it could be a couple years or more. Best of luck in your new place! Hackey

Hey Marc, I may be coming out to SDC this weekend to finalize the sale of my rig. In any case, give me a call or leave me a pm and we'll work something out. I'm planning on having a housewarming party as soon as we're settled in and you'll definitely be invited! Hackey

Well, I found someone who wants to buy my rig from me for the price I'm asking...the only thing is he still has to come up with the cash so I'll give him some time for that. We're all set to close on our house on the 27th of this month and we'll move in a couple weeks later. The money from the rig would definitely come in handy for the house. I keep thinking to myself "I can't believe I'm doing this" but it's an exciting time none the less. Hackey