New article about tandem jump in squeezeoc weekly

[marcandalysse 0]

Someone just showed me this article from the current Orange county CA weekly mag SqueezeOC.
Good publicity for skydive san diego!

http://www.squeezeoc.com/squeezeoc/livingitup/quickescapes/article_1269651.php

Quote

And I'm free, free falling
My date with descent.

By JENNIFER MUIR
Special to SqueezeOC.com

Take a dive

Where: Sky Dive San Diego, Inc.
13531 Otay Lakes Road in Jamul.

(From Fullerton, it's a two-hour drive south on the San Diego (I-5) and I-805 freeways.)

Cost:Tandem jumps are $189, or $179 if you pay cash. Solo jumps start at $309.

Reservations: 800-FREEFALL

Dear Tigger,

You strapped yourself to my backside and threw me out of an airplane 13,000 feet in the sky. I'd like to take this moment to say thank you for making me cry.

Tigger, when I arrived at Skydive San Diego, you were sitting outside a trailer smoking a cigarette. A tan tough-looking guard dog was laying nearby. I thought, "These mother effers are scary. Better not interrupt them."

Instead, I went inside the sky diving office, paid the lady at the counter some cash and initialed next to about 250 paragraphs promising I wouldn't sue if I died. Then I watched a video of a 153-year-old lawyer explaining that it's very important to understand that jumping out of airplanes is dangerous and if I splat on the ground it's nobody's fault but my own. Then the lady at the counter pointed out a place where I could buy breakfast burritos if I was hungry.

Tigger, I waited for more than an hour watching colorful little specs in the sky grow into people and land on the ground before you came looking for me.

"Who's Jennifer?" you asked.

I stepped forward and you told me to put my legs through a harness. Then you tightened the straps around my shoulders and butt and told me you'd be back. But you didn't come back until minutes before we got onto a tiny white airplane, which was called an otter.

Instead, another man offered me approximately two minutes of instruction on how not to get killed while falling more than 120 mph without a parachute: Arch your back and hold onto the harness until Tigger taps your shoulder. That's your signal to raise your arms like you're a victim in a bank heist.

Tigger, when we were walking to the plane with the other 15 or so people, you asked me if I minded if we jumped first and if we did lots of spins and twists in the sky. I said I didn't mind. My legs and hands and arms were shaking and I was about 2.3 seconds away from passing out.

As the plane ascended, Tigger, I only remember one thing you told me: It's impossible to pee your pants while free-falling. You said your friends had tried to drink lots and lots of water right before one skydiving trip just to see if they could do it. But they couldn't. That somehow made me feel at peace.

Tigger, once we were hooked together crouching next to open door, you told me not to hold onto the handle inside the plane. Then you threw all your weight at me and we fell out.

And we floated.

And flipped.

And my face pulled tight.

And breathing in the fast air felt like sucking in water. And seeing the lake and the hills and Tijuana below us was like looking at a giant photograph. The ground didn't get closer. It felt like air was blowing hard and fast around us while the earth stayed still and you and I hovered in place, swirling in the sky.

Then you pulled the parachute. You told me we fell fast for 40 seconds. You pointed out mountains in Mexico and fields in San Diego fields and showed me how to swirl the parachute in circles and let the wind flip us on our sides.

And I cried because I was free.

Tigger, we landed after about seven minutes. On our feet. And you unhooked me and posed for a quick picture and my legs were still shaking and I was smiling so big. Then you dragged away your parachute toward the trailer.

After my friend Keenan landed, you gave me a certificate and some stickers and I gave you some more cash. And you went back outside, sat next to the tan tough guard dog and lit up another cigarette. And I walked to my car and drove straight to a beer.

And I would just like to say I think I'll never forget you.

Sincerely,
Jen

[grue 1]

Pretty cool article. Interesting writing style.

cavete terrae.