blewaway5

I read his autobiography, and I must admit, based on that and other slightly less biased sources he is one tough son of a bitch, even as old as he is now. In all honesty, I probably would have liked him quite a bit. Most of the time. The times I wouldn't have liked him, though, would not have been trivial misunderstandings they would have been major problems. Having said all that I would sell my freakin' soul to the lowest bidder if it meant I could own a bike he built. Talent is an understatement. Truman Sparks for President

Hey, Julien, welcome to the jungle, er, forum, and good luck with that fire thing. Never figured out how to do that. Of course, I've never really tried....Anyway, welcome. Truman Sparks for President

Agreed. While I'm normally hesitant to endorse violence since it tends to be painful for everyone involved there are moments when I'm all for it. This is one of them. I don't care if it's 100 people or 1 person, if someone is holding one of our soldiers against their will then that person is a P.O.W. who needs rescued. Our country has the deepest obligation to rescue those people. I don't care what it takes, I don't care how many of the enemy we kill to do it, and I don't care if we lose people doing it. Maybe you all think I'm a bit extreme, but I just feel that we have that commitment to the people who risk it all to serve. They accept the fact that they may die for their country, but they aren't going out there looking to die, so we should do all we can to keep them alive and well. I could go on and on about this, but I'll quit while it's only just barely a rant

I hate to say this about any form of knee injury, or any other injury for that matter, but congrats on getting the lesser of two evils

See, I think you may have misunderstood the motto of our state. We have no contractual obligation to show you, we simply require you to show us I can only speak for myself, here, but I'm sure we could show you a pretty good time if/when you were to come a little north to play.

Thanks for that, it made me smile

Join the party! Have fun, and bring lot's of beer! Truman Sparks for President

Welcome, and as far as the age thing goes, I was 18 when I started jumping, and now I'm one of those people in their mid-twenties. Just be happy you get to do that thing the old jumpers always talk about and say they wish they'd done, start when they were 18.

Here ya go, another official welcome, and who'd have thought it, another welcome Missouri style

One of my favorites is Blew Away, by the Smashing Pumpkins. Truman Sparks for President

I'm almost positive that every new skydiver has the feeling that they want to make a living off of skydiving some day once they ahve the experience. Not to shoot any dreams down here, but 99% of us all just don't have that mentality. Like the Bytch said, you are not, repeat NOT, going to get rich in this sport. Have you ever seen how the top teams live and train? They are the cream of the skydiving crop, and I guarantee they are a long way from rich. Some of them are a long way from middle-class even. My point is that a job skydiving is just that, usually, a job. No job is fun all the time, even a skydiving job. Now don't shoot me for saying that, I'm just the messenger

Wow!!...er...I mean, welcome to the forums. I feel decidedly strange welcoming you here since I'm just a lowly little peon to this sport. I do, however, love it as passionately as most skydivers do, and I figure I might as well take this very singular and unique opportunity to call you a newbie. Truman Sparks for President

Welcome to the madness. I've heard of this normal world you speak of in old myths and fairy tales, and it seems like I vaguely remember it from some distant lifetime. Seems like I didn't like it much anyway Truman Sparks for President

I'm from nowhere near there, but I'll jump in and say hi. "Hi." Truman Sparks for President

Hello, welcome and all that stuff. Have lots of fun here, we do

Dear god, what a scary world that would be to live in Truman Sparks for President

Rev, you're a dirty, dirty little postwhore Truman Sparks for President

ROFLMAO!!! That cat is too funny! Truman Sparks for President

HAHAHA During the early stages of my addiction I bought that movie when I saw it at a pawn shop for about $3. I tell you, I learned more about skydiving from that movie than I ever have from any instructor. As a matter of fact, I'm getting ready to take a buddy up and throw him out with just a tandem harness on then chase him down. You know, just cause he's my friend and I like to screw with my friends every now and then, and I know it's pretty easy to do since I learned it from Dropzone Truman Sparks for President

Hi, and damn, you are slim. We're about the same height, but I've got you outweighed by about 75 pounds! Truman Sparks for President

You want stories? I'vve got a story for you. No shit, there I was, about to die, when...ah, I'll tell you later. Welcome Edited because drunk people shouldn't try to spell Truman Sparks for President

Oh yeah, we do like that! Truman Sparks for President

Welcome, and good luck with that cold sky you've got

WTF? You're not new! Now that I've got that off my chest, all you new people, listen to the wise post whore, because he's right, you shouldn't be shy, and you're definitely welcome. Truman Sparks for President

In the words of a wise old lady I know who happens to own my favorite bar, don't sweat the petty shit, pet the sweaty shit. I totally understand where you're coming from here because I do wish I had made a lot of decisions different. Hell, I've sat here and pondered them and kicked myself in the ass for a lot of them. The thing that set me free was when I decided that since I have no control over the past and since the future is really out of my control for the most part I might as well just concentrate on making whatever seems like the best choice at the moment. Maybe God, fate or the Great Pumpkin will guide my steps, maybe not, but if I die tomorrow I'm gonna go out thinking that at least I lived. More than likely I'm wrong about some of that, maybe all of that, but I'm firm believer that even if I am wrong and I die thinking I'm right, screw the people who have the mathematical proof showing why I was wrong. I doubt I'll care then. I guess that's all just my long drawn-out way of saying that even if you would hit the reset button all you'd accomplish would be to send yourself down a whole new path. The truth is, the path doesn't matter, it's gonna be bumpy no matter which way you go