Tuesday, January 22, 2008

My First Jump

It was a gorgeous day, as you can see. The temperature at jump time was about 50 deg F. The temperature at 14,000 feet was about -10 deg F. Accompanied by the wind as I dropped at 120 mph, it was purty durn cold for a few minutes. The noise was deafening.
My instructor (the guy on my back with the parachute) advised me to pull his ripcord at 6,000 feet. I took his advice. Then, peace and quiet as the chute opened and we slowly soared to a graceful and stand-up landing. Total time in the air was about 5 minutes.
It was fun but probably not a new addiction for me. The most surprising aspect is that I never felt a sensation of falling. It was very peaceful except for the wind and noise.



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that as a sober man, I am able to help out a friend in the middle of the night instead of sleeping through a phone call or finding an excuse not to be of assistance

today is day 1600 without a drink of alcohol for me

for a good meeting about Step 7 -- I like the way it ties into so many of the steps for me as I try to be the best person I can be -- for today

that it's no longer acceptable for me to be at odds with anyone now that I have the tools and desire to make things right

"It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared."
-- Whitney Young, Jr.

10 comments:

Pammie said...

Oh you are soooooooo brave!
Wonderful!
I wish I had a 1600 day chip for ya darlin'

One Drunk to Another said...

Well, that looks like what sobriety is all about!

Glad you jumped in. So to speak.

Suzanne

Scott W said...

Dang, you didn't show that face shot. Now, that was funny!

sojo said...

Holy cow, I really admire your courage, Dave! And congrats on 1600. What a great post. 1600 days most especially.

Mary Christine said...

Who took the pictures?

My former husband was a pilot and we would take a skydiving club up for their jumps... it creeped me out just watching them.

Unknown said...

I am stunned and completely impressed. You really are amazing Mr. dAAve!

Luv and hugs~

Bill said...

You had a beautiful day for a potential splat! Nice photos.

I'm sending a smile your way for 1600 days of sobriety. My favorite apartment was at 1600 Monument Avenue. Coincidence? In most cases, no; in this case, definitely.

p.s. post the face shot!

msb said...

congrats on 1600. And skydiving, what a spectacular feeling.

Zanejabbers said...

I WANT TO DO THAT. (nude) I want to see the face shot. HEH HEH. 1600 is great. Keep counting. TOODLES.

Syd said...

Great shots. I imagine that it was a great sensation.