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CanuckInUSA

When is a Whuffo no longer a Whuffo

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I thought so, but that's assuming they want to jump against right? I know of people who have been tandem jump passengers and they don't seem to want to jump any more. So those people must be still Whuffos. :o


Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

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I thought so, but that's assuming they want to jump against right? I know of people who have been tandem jump passengers and they don't seem to want to jump any more. So those people must be still Whuffos. :o



Do some people actually not want to jump anymore after they do their first?? :o
=======================
"What I want is what I've not got ,but what I need is all around me"-DMB
Meghan

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I'm thinkin' ya aren't really shed of all your whuffoness until you actually realize and understand what you're doing and decide to go to the door and jump anyway.

This might be a person's first AFF or maybe not until well after they get their A.

Kinda vague, but I think a big part of this is the realization you could actually die or worse if you screw it up and that you and only you are responsible for saving your life everytime you jump.

So, to me, tandems are a step toward not being a whuffo, but in and of themselves, aren't the cure.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

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That's true. My thinking is heavily influenced by all the people I know that came to the sensible conclusion after their first jump: Skydiving is good. I wasn't thinking about the other misguided ones at the time.
I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane.

Harry, FB #4143

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I think you are no longer a whuffo when you can pack and jump your own rig............B|B|

Or when you are equally as comfortable cruisin to altitude and leaving the aircraft as much as walking.......;);)

Or when you first wake up every morning you look up at the sky........wondering.......:P

Just a ramblin man don't take me serious:)

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So when is a Whuffo no longer a Whuffo?



When they are a skydiver.. :)
When I was going through IAF (3 tandems, 7? Single instructor dives) the people at my DZ said I was a skydiver after the second tandem, but I don't think I considered myself a skydiver until I finished the program. Heck, I still don't entirely think I'm a skydiver, but not a whuffo either, I'm somewhere in the middle.

--
Hook high, flare on time

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If, going by the definition of "whuffo", wouldn't it be when you KNOW why you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane? I know someone isn't a skydiver after a tandem or two, but if you love skydiving, do you still have to be a "whuffo"? There are some people who do a tandem and don't want to jump again (unbelievable!) then there are the ones who understand and know, they have to jump again!

[:/][:/][:/]


J


--------------------------------------
Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings.

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Yep, I think it's when you have been skydiving and want to go back up and do it again!!

Or, when you know to use the response, "you haven't seen our airplane."

Once the plane takes off, you're gonna have to land - Might as well jump out!!

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I think you shed the Whuffo skin the first time you truly enjoy a jump on your own. For some it's the first solo, others never get it.

As for being a skydiver. My official dubbing as a diver was by Eric Bush following a harrowing search for an off DZ jumper that went long past dark. After a successful discovery of the jumper (and finding she was just scratched up and scared) we were sitting in the bar with a couple well earned beers. I was hating life as my unit was having an alert in another two hours to roll to the field for 10 days of Uncle Sam's playground time. Eric just looked over and said,"Yep, your priorties are finally strait. You're not just another guy who jumps out here, you're a skydiver. Now here's another beer 'cause your life is about to suck for the next two weeks you poor bastard!" He was right.... B|
Hearts & Minds
2 to the Heart-
1 to the Mind-
Home of the Coconut Lounge, Spa, & Artillery Range

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But what about those of us poor misunderstood victims of SDD (skydiver dysmorphic syndrome)?

Long before I ever jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, I knew I was a skydiver trapped in a Whuffo's body. (This is really hard--I'm so embarassed, but I can't hold it inside any longer.) I don't know when I first realized this--but when someone finally told me about it, it just felt "right".

Then came the years in the "wilderness"--the medical professionals who didn't understand; well-meaning friends and family who said it was just a phase or that I'd grow out of it. After that came endless tests and medications; the constant parade of the curious and the incompetent; the shock therapy (actually, that wasn't too bad--especially when they put those tight little clips on my...wait--never mind); the failed relationships, financial hardship, and excessive drinking (or did those come AFTER I began skydiving?).

So that's why I decided to start with AFF instead of a tandem--I knew that I was born this way and that nothing could ever change it. And after my first jump, it was all different--now I could say "I AM a skydiver" and nobody could deny it (OK, unless they actually SAW me jump--but I swear noone got hurt and the cow will recover eventually!).

So to all my fellow members of Whuffos Anonymous, be strong--there is a better life on the other side. I may have made only six jumps so far, but finally I can be who I really am. I can act and dress like a skydiver, I get to play with skydiver toys, and I don't have to sit at the Whuffo table at family gatherings anymore.

So if you feel you might be suffering from SDD, please--I beg you--call your local drop zone. Our trained counselors are standing by to help you. Like me, you can finally be free of this crippling stigma.

Blue skies and your choice of a side dish,

SKYPEG

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Do some people actually not want to jump anymore after they do their first?? :o



Definitely. I'd bet that something like a quarter of the folks who finish the training really become "lifestyle skydivers". And I know lots of people just never finish their training jumps. I haven't personally made a skydive in over a year (changing that this weekend, though--gotta put some jumps on the new skyflyer before I head across the pond).

I have a lot of respect for the folks who tried it and really decided it just wasn't for them. For example, I know one guy who tried it, decided "yeah, kind of fun, whatever" and is now a world class rock climber. He's still not a "whuffo" to me.

A "whuffo" is someone (skydiver or not) who can't break out of their mental mold and understand that not everyone approaches life the same way they do. I've met them everywhere (even at the DZ--fewer of them there, but there are still some).
-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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Wow, I can't beleive that! I am totally bummed out that I can't do my training now because of my financial situation. I only jumped once & I'm totally hooked. Every last penny I have is going toward saving for my training!
=======================
"What I want is what I've not got ,but what I need is all around me"-DMB
Meghan

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>So when is a Whuffo no longer a Whuffo?

When they don't have to ask "Whuffo you want jump out of a perfectly good airplane".:)
I don't think you even have to do one jump to not be a whuffo. Some people might "get it" through some other form of aviation, or through something else completely.

And there are some skydiving whuffos....

To sum it up: "You don't know what to look for, but you'll know one when you see one.";)

Erno

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Long before I ever jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, I knew I was a skydiver trapped in a Whuffo's body.



I'm a whuffo trapped in a skydiver's body. After 300 odd jumps I'm still scared, and I don't have a clue why I do it, but I become very depressed if I go without jumping for more than three weeks. I guess it has something to do with the hipothalamus.

--
ZZZzzzz....

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Long before I ever jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, I knew I was a skydiver trapped in a Whuffo's body.



I'm a whuffo trapped in a skydiver's body. After 300 odd jumps I'm still scared, and I don't have a clue why I do it, but I become very depressed if I go without jumping for more than three weeks. I guess it has something to do with the hipothalamus.



You get depressed if you dont jump in 3 weeks? Damn its more like 3 hours for me :)

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