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I think the nervousness is part of the thrill. I still get nervous if I sit right by the door...thank God for otters where I can always sneak in before the last person or two. As for falling out....isn't that the point??? Relax and remember that we all fear something. How you deal with it is what sets us apart from the rest of the unfortunate world.

Way to go Billy. Best numbers yet....keep it up and we might all get jealous. I remember my frist rig. I was so happy when I got it Labor Day weekend last year. I jumped and jumped that weekend until I cut it away on jump #38 on Labor Day. I recently sold it and got a new Mirage, but i still look longingly at my first "baby" and remind the guys who purchased it and split it up to be gentle with her. Good luck with the purchase...nothing can compare to owning your own stuff.

Welcome Back. Read some of the posts here and you will se that we all have fears, but we face them to do something we truely love. Examine what is causing the fear, face it head on, and overcome it. Let us know how it goes. I promise when you leave that plane and feel the wind run it's fingers through your hair again you will wonder what took you so long to get back to what you love.

We used to have one until the Freefly Festival last year when everyone was using it as a swing. If they don't have one then you need to come down to Skydive Atl and jump with us. Not that there is anything wrong with Rome except that it is almost 5 hours for me to drive there....yuck.

Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades....SORRY

2 jumps Sat and 7 Sun. SD ATL is also open on the 4th...otter fumes

You ROCK chick!

Watch it..... Didn't your mother teach you that if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all???

Dutch, the child has already jumped with me. I even took his tube virginity. Where were you??

LIFE IS GOOD...................

Hey, JT. I thought about you yesterday when we pulled off the Horny Gorilla. What a blast...sunset load, 14,700, two storms to the west with the sun setting between them. Life is good. Anyway I have a new dive for us to do. You grab right wrists around the center of the star and stick out your left arm. Hang on...... We also did a hybred dive. Jen tried to do a stand hanging onto Tom's and my chest straps while we held a 2 way. It was more of a sit than a stand but the speed was incredible. You would be good at that with your "average" fall rate!! So did you jump with the gang this weekend???????

Carl, It is all related so, yes this applies to life as well. Lisa

You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Is there anything we can do to help? We are all here to listen if you need to vent. Lisa

Morning Michele...... I can relate to the having been years. I went there before and after by divorce. Things will get better....trust me on that. The voice of an older woman assures you of that. Besides, right now the most important thing in life is to get those jumps done. It took me a month to get off student status last year, but then the jumps just start coming. Be patient, relax, enjoy yourself (that is part of why you do it) and NEVER give up. I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you my story. I am a skydiver. I fell in love with altitude when I took my first plane ride from Atlanta to Miami when I got a job working for the airlines after I graduated college...long time ago. The painting that nature provides us from aloft rivals any museum collection on earth. I never cease to be amazed that I am looking at something ever changing that can stay so constant in that it thrills me to my very soul. Last year when a friend said he was jumping and invited me to go along I saw it as a chance to get back up there and enjoy the beauty from above. Of course I was hooked from the time we left the plane (thanks to Howard and Kevin on video). No amount of discussion can prepare you for the multitude of sensations experienced during a skydive. Fear, joy, awe, exhileration, tension, relief, and pride all roll into one giant emotion. Funny thing is I still feel each of these emotions on every jump. I think that is how it is supposed to be. If you no longer taste the fear or wallow in the pride of your accomplishment then it is no longer worth doing. Anyway, fear can be a motivator as well as a handicap. I have chosen to use it as a motivator. I've always known that I don't like to be up high on a ladder or anything like that so I have that to deal with on every jump. It is the fear that doesn't cause brain shut-down but more so brain-fixation. Landings used to just kill me. I didn't stand one up until I had 20 jumps. I was so proud of myself I almost cried. I realized just how much this fear effected me when we spent weekend before last in the wind tunnel. There were walls, a net floor, and fans in the ceiling. All objects that I could touch and feel and that could touch me back. It took me most of the weekend just to get over that. I finally managed to relax enough so that I am confident I can handle it when I go back. Yes, I will go back just to prove to myself that I can do it. Another obsticle to overcome is age. Those kids that are half my age really seem to catch on lots quicker than I do. Not a problem, I just keep on trying and don't give up. If I fall out of the formation I owe it to them to try and get back in, but I also owe it to myself to be the best I can be. That does not mean that when jumping becomes work I won't rethink my position. (sorry David, I understand your position and I hope you can see mine) Anyway, sorry for the meandering and backsliding I just did, but the moral to this long drawn out thesis is that we all have fears to face. We all choose to face them in our own way. Sometime we are right, sometimes we aren't. That is life. I'm proud of you for facing your fears and flying with them. You are an inspiration to us all in that you so willingly face your fears and share them so honestly with us. Lisa

Maybe for dinner but nothing serious. He jumps but not lots and well you know me, I spent the entire weekend at the DZ...got in about 2 this morning. He was nice enough and very much the gentleman which was nice. Guess I'll just play it cool and see, but serious and I do not get along well. That explains why I don't date much. I think I've become too independent since my divorce....NOT. BTW....he did recognize me in a dress! And no I was not going all out. The humidity was oppressive and the dress is cooler than pants.

I love teaching school sometimes cause I have time off to play, but when work comes I am swamped. Guess I just need to enjoy my time so I'm off to the pool. I can't neglect my tan. Wish they were jumping close...I'd be there. Sorry about the chick. So maybe you can just look and dream. Forget it, just jump....it's safer.

Ain't life wonderful....glad you are ok and that you had fun. Weekends are simply too short now that skydiving takes up every spare moment....don't you agree? Freefly chick Huh??? Story here?

Way to go! Oh, BTW.....BEER!!!!!!!

0:9:0....The important number is the 9 of course. Nothing smaller than a 3 way and nothing less than 7 points except the really wild Horny Gorilly we did sunset load yesterday. Does it cound that we held it to about 8 from 14,500? The beer numbers are getting good for me as I think it was about time for the new kids to buy beer for awhile. Massive quantities were consumed so no worries. As for the first number....I was propositioned but choose not to go there. Not bad numbers all in all for a weekend that had nothing but rain on Sat. Yes, rain hurts when you fall in it. No it is on the the 4th ....what did you do on the 4th? Nothing much just jumped out of a plane to celebrate my freedom!

I agree Michele...thus we did coaching dives all weekend. I'll take all the advice and help I can get. I hurt all over and it it 2:30 here so I could use some sleep if I could wind down!!! Doubtful since I had such a good weekend I hate to make it end.

Life is good right now.... I jumped my a$$ off today and pulled some pretty good stuff out of my bag of tricks. Enjoyed Sat at the DZ in the rain with all my friends and even jumped twice (once in the rain...yuck), went on a date Friday night. What more could a girl ask for??? OK, sex but heck 3 outta 4 ain't bad.

Glad to know I'm not the only nut in the bunch. We had a full otter load so I was in the right seat last jump on Sat. I'm sitting up there looking around minding my own business when I see rain drops hitting the windshield. I mentioned the rain to the pilot who laughed at me and siad there were so many people on the otter that it was sweating. HA..HA..HA Well I figure if the 22 others were going to jump I could too. It rained from exit to ground. Front float in a Super Otter only shows how stupid I was...not only go I get the rain but I get rain off the prop blast too. That's ok though since it was a new experience and one I'm not likely to forget soon. Best of all we pulled off a 5 way 8 points. Wonder if this could count as water training since everything was wet???

ALWAYS shave the legs...even on the weekend at the DZ. The dress comment was just because I don't wear nice stuff to the DZ. Yes, he recognized me. I'll give you all the details of my weekend today...later since it is 2:30 a.m. on Monday and I'm just getting in from the DZ.

CONGRATS......keep us up on what is happening. Maybe yu should post a where's the HH and take us to visit somewhere new each week...complete with pics and editorial.

Here we go again..... SKY CHICKS RULE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 8 way crew dogs placed 2nd in speed. Two of the team members jump at our DZ.....man I love to watch them.