It all started back on Labor Day weekend here at DeLightful DeLand. Don Bridges wanted to celebrate his 60th birthday and his 16th year of sobriety in a unique way, so he gathered 22 of his closest friends for a Saturday morning hop 'n' pop at 15,000 feet. At sunrise! The response was overwhelming, and there were even lurkers, geared up and ready to go at 6:30 AM, waiting at the boarding area in case somebody was a no-show. That was an unforgettable jump! There were already big puffies building all around the DZ as the Super Sonic Twin Otter started it's takeoff roll. Some on board were worried that it might close in on us, but the gods smiled, and we were treated to awesome visuals both on the ride to altitude, and on the way down under canopy. Everyone pretty much just got out, pulled, then found others to fly around with, and several jumpers captured some pretty breathtaking video and stills. Canopy rides ranged from about 15 minutes for those under highly loaded hot rods, to close to half an hour for John LeBlanc under a very large "X" canopy. About a half hour after he landed, the skies finally let loose, and it rained for an hour. Whew! We had barely pulled it off! Fast forward to this past Saturday. For over a month everyone had been talking about doing it again, and Don went about putting another list together. The jump was set for the 12th, and this time he had 45 people! With sunrise about a half hour later than it was at Labor Day, we didn't need to get up *quite* as early, but still there we were circled up in the dark, with more lurkers than slots. Looked like a CRW record attempt, and it could have been! A few folks who had been on the previous jump graciously gave their slots to folks who hadn't. The group was pretty evenly split between those who wanted to do hop n pops, and those who wanted to take it down, so it was an easy call to put them in the Rocketvan, and the high pullers in the Twin Otter. So, off we went in formation. Clouds were not an issue this time, but some ground fog was threatening to roll in. Thankfully it didn't, and the visuals again were spectacular, with the sun rising above some clouds off the coast. Gorgeous! I was on the Otter, and ended up playing under canopy with Chris Ash and Krista Anderson, a fairly low-timer who had never done a hop and pop before (BEER!), doing a bit of impromtu no-contact but *very close* CRW. Later on in the weekend, over a few cold chillers at the Perfect Spot, naturally the conversation turned to when we'd do it yet again. Krista excused herself to go outside and smoke a cigarette, and when she came back in, Bob Hallett asked her what it would take for her to quit smoking (she'd been trying to quit for some time). Now, anyone who knows Bob knows how fanatical he is about getting folks to quit. There is very little he won't do, and in fact the standing deal is he will pay you $100 to quit, but if you start again, you have to pay him $200! Good incentive! So, Krista thought it over for a second, then told Bob that her birthday was coming up (today), and that she would chunk that pack of cigarettes in the can right then and there if she could do another sunrise jump on her B-day. So, it was settled, she hasn't had one since, and there we were again, gearing up in the dark this morning! This time it was just Krista, me, Bob, and Mike Johnston, with Ray Pope flying, in the 182 to 5K. What fun! As I knelt in that plane on the ride up, watching the town below us come to life - the streetlights flickering out, the line of cars dropping kids off at the high school, the fingers of fog rolling off the St. John's river, just taking in the beauty of it all, I had two distinct thoughts come to my mind: first, that old familiar "I wonder what the normal people are doing?" The answer was crystal clear to me as I looked down, and I just felt this kind of awe come over me, this feeling of being so very lucky to be right here, right now, of being fortunate enough to be able to be doing this. Secondly, I thought about the company I had with me – this wonderful young lady who is just beginning to discover all the joys this sport can bring, and two guys who have "been there, done that, and got the T-shirt" for decades, whom I have looked up to for years, who made the effort to get out there and make this newbie's birthday a special one. It's that very quality that I've seen in so many jumpers over so many years, and have tried to emulate myself, that makes it all worth it. Sometimes the full time DZ life/working in the skydiving/equipment industry can be a big PITA, but on this morning I had to say to myself, "You know, I can't think of any better way to start a Tuesday!"
