No Bounce in a Different Direction

NO BOUNCE IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION

My first jump: Zephyrhills, Florida 1973

Terminal velocity for a falling man of average weight is 133mph The maximum g forces the human body can sustain is around 39gs or 39 times his weight.
The sudden stop at the end of the fall, graphically termed a bounce, takes place within ¼ of an inch and generates over, well F=MA You do the math.

What I want to describe to you is the anxiety of making that first jump. I want to share the experience with you to illustrate what it did for me. How it provided growth and contributed to my self confidence. This story will illustrate to you the value of stepping out of the box once in a while. Not the value of gambling but of taking a calculated risk in order to progress to a higher existential plane.

The four hours of training that comes with the course helps. I mean by the time you get through going through all the motions of hanging in the straps, jumping off a platform and practicing rolling It gets progressively harder to say “no” and go home.
Its like they lead you down the path anyway. There aren’t any refunds.” Except if your parachute doesn’t open” AHHARHAR! Every jumpmaster’s favorite joke.
Every nerve in my body is screaming at me: RUN! Get out and run. There is still time. You will never see these people again! Get in your car and go home. Get in bed and never come back here and thank you God.
Again the jumpmaster (authorative stance)

“When you go out the door you will be on a static line. Your instructor will ensure that you don’t forget to hook your static line hook to the aircraft. You will be jumping at 3000 feet. THREE THOUSAND FEET!!!!!”
And it all comes rushing back. The terror you were wallowing in before the distraction of the recent training. Now its getting serious. You look around and smell the air. No chance of rain?. “Now is as good as time as any to die” you whimper to yourself.
“This will be the first of your three jump package. You can make all three today if you like or you can return next week.”“HOW ABOUT I COME BACK NEXT WEEK FOR MY FIRST?” I almost blurt.
“This is a unique day for you. One to be valued. Look around and take it all in. Smell the flowers, smile at the nice people. Listen to the birds chirping on the telephone wires outside. He says. I’m sure he’s describing my last day on Earth”.
We suit up. The Jumpmaster hands us our chute and later checks the fit of the straps.
(authorative stance) “You need to grab your handle and pull it after you leave the door. You look, eyes on, grab it and pull. Don’t let go of it. You are just practicing for when you progress from static line to free fall.”“HAH! I’M NEVER COMING BACK AFTER THIS ONE” I want to shout. .
I practice it a few times. I catch myself reviewing my streamer procedures in case my first chute doesn’t open, and praying, praying .
But really the scariest part wasn’t suiting up or walking toward the aircraft or climbing up to 3000 feet. The scariest part was sitting securely in the open door, legs dangling complimenting myself on how brave I was. when the instructor tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to a little step welded way out on the strut.
“You climb out there and hold on. Keep your eyes on me and let go on my signal. Don’t forget to grab and pull your practice handle!. I’ll be watching.”“WHAT!! CLIMB OUT ON THE STRUT!!!? AND STAND ON THAT LITTLE STEP? YOU’RE JOKING RIGHT??” This was not in the brochure!
I thought all I had to do was jump out the door. I can keep my eyes closed doing that. Now I have to keep my eyes wide open and pay attention to every detail of what I’m doing or I could slip in the 120mph hour wind and fall to a screaming miserable death. The scariest part wasn’t standing out there, Hands crinkling the aluminum. No. Without a doubt the absolute horrific part was GETTING out there.
I don’t mind saying it took a lot of what has become termed as “the right stuff” to get out there. I grew in those moments.

On his signal, heart in my throat I left the step, spread my arms, looked toward my practice handle, grabbed and pulled it. As I did so I saw him watching me from the aircraft door. As my gaze returned to Mother Earth hurrying eagerly toward me I felt a PLOP. I looked up and saw the giant canopy lazily floating above me. “Thankyou God, Thankyou God. Thank you Thank you. Never having that sort of un obstructed visibility before, I noticed the view was spectacular. Ok now for the landing procedures. Steer toward the big bulls eye in front of the jump shack. Steer into the wind. Keep tension in the legs, ankles together.


The jump shack had a little 4 x 4 concrete pad infront of the entrance. I landed ankles together, tension in my legs and rolled inside the door. My chute draped itself over the top of the roof. There was a little dog lieing just inside of that door. He jumped 10 feet with fright and never stopped barking at me for 15 minutes. Like a little k-9 drill instructor he was. “arf arf arf Waddayamean landing there and scaring me like that?arf arf You are supposed to land on the big red and white thingy like I’m used to seeing everyone else do. Whadda ya Crazy. You could have killed me…you’re no good you know that? You don’t know nothing. bark yap yap bark .
Then the debrief.The beautiful debrief that I remember word for word to this day: “Chuck, You didn’t waste a lot of shoe leather on that landing but you were the only one who gave me a decent let-go. The rest of you sort of just collapsed off the strut like they had already resigned themselves to dieing. The other guy who chickened out altogether can come back next week if he wants his money’s worth cause there ain’t no refunds

It turned out to be quite a learning experience. We go through life with people approving and disapproving of us. The first thing I heard upon landing was the dog. At times that dog barks at each and every one of us. But what made a difference was the words from the jumpmaster. From a seed of an idea conceived in boredom and a quest to do something unusual in life, through working up the nerve and concentrating on the end result to the reward which made it all a worthwhile enterprise: the jumpmasters debrief statement which said to me that I was capable of greater things. “Chuck, you were the only one who gave me a decent let-go”. I grew 10 feet that day. With those words.. I drove home and began changing friends. Long gone are the dogs in my life and have sought the company of jumpmasters ever since.