QuickDraw 0 #51 January 20, 2004 Yeah... fucking ground-dwelling scumfuckers. -- Hope you don't die. -- I'm fucking winning Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Push 0 #52 January 20, 2004 QuoteI find it distressing that when a student doesn't make the cut, the cliche is to recommend bowling or golf - it's more of an ego rub for the instructor since in this context it's obviously an insult to the student and bowling/golf I know I'm pointing out the obvious, but bowling/golf won't kill you if you do them wrong. Anyway, I vote no. As was said, you can understand everything about skydiving but your perspective will be changed if you do a jump, which means that you did not understand it to begin with. Also, even though tandems are skydivers, they are not quite the same as an experienced jumper. To me, a "real" skydiver is someone who had exprienced what I call the click. It's the moment where you stop performing rehearsed motions in the air and start flying, when muscle memory stops being the only real method of teaching and becomes a tool. I think this is the reason for the popularity of freeflying, but I digress. Until you have manipulated the wind and felt one with it, I don't think you are a "real" skydiver, because you have not really experienced the sensation of flying. In no way does this mean that skydivers are better than other people. But I think it does mean that skydivers are different from a lot of other people. -- Toggle Whippin' Yahoo Skydiving is easy. All you have to do is relax while plummetting at 120 mph from 10,000' with nothing but some nylon and webbing to save you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarkM 0 #53 January 20, 2004 Quote Remember the day after the first time you had sex? You felt like you were in a different world; you had an awakening of sorts. Your perspective changed. Huh, funny, what I remember the next day was, "Whew. I'm not a virgin anymore." But that was about the impact of it. Guess I've been doing it wrong all these years I'm sure there are many ways you can experience the same level of rush and emotions other than skydiving. I'd imagine hanging off the seat of a motorcycle going 180mph 2 feet from a concrete wall provides the same life-level of impact skydiving does. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelel01 1 #54 January 20, 2004 Sorry about my previous post. You know how people say,"Don't drive when you're angry" or "Don't shop when you're hungry"? Well, don't post angry either. I was just very ticked off, and I decided to take it out on all whuffos and unknowns. I guess the trust is gone, my friends. Kelly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpinjackflash 0 #55 January 20, 2004 Empathy can carry some very far. However, after doing it myself and experiencing, I truly believe there is no way to connect with it. So many that I know, even the really empathetic ones, think it's either a macho thing, deathwish thing, or adrenaline junky thing. Even though, there's a little bit of all of it I suppose, and maybe for some it is one or the other, it's quite apparent to those of us that do it, that it's so much more. I'm not religious, but I am spiritual, though my views are private, I think spirituality is an intimate thing not something to be tossed around... But honestly? I've never felt closer to God, or the Universe, and can't imagine anything else quite taking me their. When I bail, and find myself surround by it all? Unbelievable. Completely, Totally, Beautiful. How could you "understand" without being there? blues, jjfIt's a gas, gas, gas... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flygirl03 0 #56 January 25, 2004 QuoteCan the magic of flight ever be carried by words? I think not. — Michael Parfit QuoteMy soul is in the sky. — William Shakespeare Quote In our dreams we are able to fly . . . and that is a remembering of how we were meant to be. — Madeleine L'Engle QuoteDon't let the fear of falling keep you from knowing the joy of flight. — Lane Wallace QuoteWhen I'm up in the air, it's like I'm closer to heaven; I can't explain the feeling. — First Officer Jeffrey Gagliano ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ earthbound misfit Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canopycandy 0 #57 January 25, 2004 Here are the main things my whuffo friends can't understand about my skydiving: 1. How I can be scared and still do it. 2. The spiritual and personal satisfaction I get from it. 3. Why I feel like the luckiest person on earth ... er, in the sky ... every time I jump. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScubaSteve 0 #58 January 26, 2004 No. They will never understand what is feels like to be a student/beginner. They will not understand how it feels to suit up for the first few times. They dont know how a 10 Min calls feels. They will have never performed a pin or handle check at 10k. They will have not moved towards the door while their legs felt like rubber. They will not have experienced the satisfaction of a stable freefall. No good opening, no good landing. I have many friends that will not jump. Some have been to the DZ and others watched videos. They all seem to say the same thing, "That can't be that hard", "looks fun". They dont not understand that the actual jump is only a part of the skydive, for a beginner anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
