Parachutes and Ladders

The rain-out date for our skydiving excursion has finally come and gone, but will not be soon forgotten. August 1st, 2010 will undoubtedly be one of the most memorable days of my life. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to accomplish something that I once thought I could never do. Fortunately the weather cooperated this time, in spite of Andrew's wife, Allison, doing a rain dance in the backyard on the eve of our voyage.

The morning of the jump was overcast so I tried not to get too amped up about the trip. I actually slept very well the night before because I was convinced that after 6 straight days of sunshine, our run of spectacular weather was sure to come to an end. I literally woke up one minute before the alarm on my clock radio was set to go off. Its a good thing I woke up at that point too. Its the same clock radio I've owned since college, and for some reason it never seemed to wake me up in time to make it to my classes back then. Which by the way was a shame. I loved every second of class time I could get back then so it was always a disappointment when I missed out on a quality opportunity to learn. I guess that's why I spent so much of my down time at the library in an attempt to make up for lost time.

Andrew made the call to Finger Lakes Skydiving early that morning. They said the weather was iffy, but they would make every attempt to get all six of our jumpers back down to the ground safely. Off we went on a pleasant drive to the Finger Lakes region. Its actually a beautiful area because its surrounded by a bunch wineries in every direction. Things really started to look up the closer we came to our destination. The sun began to peek through the clouds which was a sight for sore eyes. Although we had complete trust in Andrew's navigational skills, some of us became concerned with where we were headed. There didn't appear to be any direct route to get to the airport. We were traveling down what appeared to be some abandoned roads. All of a sudden it dawned on us that this could be a colossal set-up.

"Does it seem strange to anyone else that there's a $20 discount if you pay for your skydive in cash?" Tweetch asked.

I think that may have been the most nerve wracking point of the entire trip. It was at this time that everyone riding in our vehicle became very quiet. Quiet enough that you could subliminally hear the banjos warming up in the background. I think everybody started looking out the windows, waiting for a fleet of pickup trucks filled with Hillbillies to surround us, take all of our cash, and then steal all of our women. There was a collective sigh of relief when we saw the sign for Ovid International Airport.

When we got out of the car it seemed like everyone who worked there had just woke up. Most of the people there were moving pretty slowly. I guess the smoldering coals left behind by the previous night's bonfire outside should have been a clue that some of the employees had a long night. I wasn't too alarmed when I saw the empty 30 pack of Budweiser as well as wine bottle laying on the ground next to their tent. As long as the pilot was well rested we should be o.k. I mean how hard could it be to pull a rip-cord right? Hungover or not, I'm sure the instructors wanted to get two feet firmly planted on the ground too.

The first task of the day was to sign your life away, relieving Finger Lakes Skydivers from any liability. Although I had no issue with doing so, I had no idea how long that would take. It seemed like it took me as long to sign all of the required papers last Spring when I closed on my new house. And you should have seen one of the guys in the "scare video" we had to watch before we took off. I believe the guy on the tape was the person who created the idea for tandem parachutes. And yes, I said tape, in reference to the stacks of VCR cassettes that were strewn about the building. It wasn't exactly the most technologically advanced place I've ever visited. Anyways, this guy looked like he could have been in the band ZZ Top. His beard was so long it didn't fit on the TV screen. I have no issues with some one's outward appearance, but it was so distracting that I don't think anyone of us remembered one bit of the instructions he gave us.

After a brief run through, and I mean brief, we were paired together with one other person. I was to go 1st with Jerry. Andrew and his father Larry drew the next straw, followed by Kevin and Tweetch. The instructor Chris, who had taught our "class" went to go find my tandem jump instructor, Brett. As Chris and Brett were giving Jerry and I some final instruction, as well as getting us suited up, the rest of our party returned to our tailgating spot outside next to the runway.

Next we were escorted to the plane. Although I'm positive that the air craft was 100% safe, the thing looked like a 1976 AMC Gremlin with wings! Not the most comforting sight, but we all survived. Actually, the flight was great. It took about twenty minutes to reach our desired altitude of 10,500 feet, or approximately 2 miles in the air.

Jerry left the plane with Chris first so I was on deck. The hardest part for me was getting my feet out onto the HUGE step outside of the plane. Note the sarcasm. That step was about the size of a friggin' drink coaster in a bar. Once I was sitting in the ready position it was go time. All I can say is what a fucking ride. It was just short of 35 seconds of free fall at 120mph! The canopy ride to the ground was great as well. The view from up there was indescribable. Its one of the most incredible sights I've ever seen in my life.

I'm am proud to say I did not shit my pants. I may have peed a little, but nothing noticeable. I did bring a change of shorts but they were never needed. Although I went uninjured during my flight and landing, that can't be said for everyone in our party. There were no serious injuries to report. However, there were a couple of sore asses from the landing, and two of the guys, Tweetch and Kevin, landed on their "coin purses". Let's just say it was a good thing they didn't have any singing appearances in the near future. The octave at which they would have performed would have been undoubtedly higher.

After a fine meal at Red Newt Cellars winery in Hector, NY, we headed for home. The celebration continued for some of us at Greene's Ale House and Patz on the River upon arrival back into Oswego. However, there was a sobering moment during our stop at Greene's. After numerous text messages and a few phone calls, we were prompted to turn on the news. We looked up in time to see a story about a skydiving plane with six passengers, who had crashed about an hour away from where we jumped that day. There was one person critically injured, but expected to make a full recovery. The other five passengers were released rather quickly. It was kind of ironic and it did give a number of our friends and families a scare. Some of them were not aware of which airport we had gone to, or they had yet to hear from us that day. I guess that should have been enough to deter me from ever jumping again. NOT A CHANCE! I can't wait to go skydiving again as soon as possible. It was a bit pricey, but worth every nickel in my opinion.

I'd like to congratulate my Brothers in Flight, Kevin Brown, Tom Matweetcha, Jerry McManus, Andrew Heintz and Larry Heintz. I'd also like to give a special thanks to Jerry's wife Jeanne, for being one of the designated drivers and carting our drunk asses around. In addition, I'd also like to thank Allison and Mary Lou Heintz, the wives of Andrew and Larry, for their support from the ground, as they watched us drift back down to Planet Earth. It was truly one of the greatest days and experiences of my life.