I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.
Diane Ackerman.
Yesterday we went to Grand Bend so Derek could do something some would call crazy, others would call brave and he called fun. He jumped off of the wing of an airplane at 8,200 feet and did a 4,000 foot free fall before deploying a parachute that brought him breezily down to a target on the ground. As the one who watched his ascent and descent via binoculars I have to say it was a genuine thrill. His first words were, “When can I do it again?”
L to R: Bob, Derek, Rich and Mary. Bob and Rich are instructors. Bob taught Derek his ground-school training and Derek left the plane with one man holding on to a strap on either side of him for the free-fall. Once his parachute went up, they went their own way. Mary is also a very experienced jumper who operates a helmet-cam and from the little bit of footage I watched, she’s excellent at her job. And what a job it is! Bob has done more that 13,000 jumps. It’s as routine to them as driving to work. But they know that it’s far from routine for their clients.
Derek had done a different kind of jump before, 20-some years ago, from a much lower elevation. When they left the plane, they were out of sight of our binoculars. There was nothing, nothing and then all of a sudden four chutes appeared. It was spectacular! And I’ll admit it was also a huge relief. Even though thousands of people jump safely somewhere in the world every day, general wisdom dictates that you stay inside the airplane!
Derek has always had a bit of a daredevil streak. He loves scaring the heck out of himself and we were both understandably nervous until it was over. But what a thrill, even just to be on the ground. I thought I might want to do it until we actually started talking seriously about it and then I realized that I really didn’t. And that’s okay. And it’s also okay that he wanted to very badly. It’s all part of a contest for Free-FM in which our morning show is giving away a jump for free. Hey, if we were giving away hot sauce he’d want to try that too!
