sitflyr

You don't have to wait for that, bro. Get Tinya or Elvisio to put ya on. That's who really should do it anyhow, 'cause whoever puts you on the website is gonna show up as one of the parents. Zofo

Hi Christian!! Yeah, I questioned Stuart's multiple names awhile back on the bulletin board. Thought maybe one of his 4 parents would fix that! Zofo

I do. Julie

I am Zofo, bastard love child of Cajones and Dinero. I'm #308. Zofo

Who's yer daddy? If he's not on the website by now, he should email Pepe with his name, his RB name and his parents. Pepe will contact his parents to have him put on. Zofo

Blue Sky Adventures in St. George, SC. Sometimes we have a King Air, sometimes a Caravan and sometimes an Otter. For boogies we usually have a Casa. Our annual Harvest Moon Boogie is Oct. 11-13 this year, btw. BSA is a small dz with a very good vibe; and most of our regulars are Rodriguez Brothers, so there is much fun to be had! Julie (Zofo Rodriguez)

clarch, you're very wise to learn all that you can about safety and equipment right from the start. Keep that attitude and you'll enjoy a long skydiving career!

It may be a hard lesson, but it's a lesson better learned from you than out in the world. I work in a bank and I see what happens to the credit histories of young people who haven't learned to budget. They ruin their credit and it stays that way for years, preventing them from being able to buy homes, cars, or even open a bank account. Financial responsiblity is one thing that he'll someday thank you for teaching him, even if you have to make him sleep in the truck to get the point across. Julie

I know exactly what you mean, Lisa. There was a time when my son had two out-of-state girlfriends at the same time. He called both of them every day; but when the phone bill came, he pulled the "I don't have it" trick. After a few of months of this, we made him get his own phone. (Those girls became far less attractive when HE had to pay his phone bill.) Hang in there! Julie

Sounds like you may have exited too quickly after the previous jumper. Also, any time you punch through a cloud, you never know what will be on the underside of it (maybe even in it). Glad nobody got hurt. Julie

I think so too, Alan. An open container on the step has the potential to cause the deaths of everyone on board. We'd be wiser to focus on what caused the premature deployment than on whether the guy was wearing a helmet, imo. Does anyone have any information about the jumper's equipment? Julie

Still reaching. You don't have to have additional people to handle complaints. The system already in place would suffice. I believe I addressed this earlier. It is the practice and not one individual which I find objectionable. I'm not interested in "getting" someone. The only way that I can see to get rid of the practice of instituting widespread bans against the individual members is to require USPA GM dropzones to act in good faith to provide their services to the membership. "Getting" one person would not accomplish that. And herein lies the crux of our difference of opinion. From my point of view, as long as a dropzone receives any endorsement or benefit as a member of the USPA GM program, that dropzone should be obliged to operate under USPA rules, one of which should require the dropzone to act in good faith to provide services to the membership at large. If a dropzone is not a USPA Group Member, then I have no problem at all with that dz banning whomever they wish. In that case, the dzo is operating without receiving any USPA benefits and has no particular obligation to its membership. You have made it very clear that your point of view is not the same as mine. I understand where you're coming from, but my opinion remains as stated. I expect that yours will as well. I think that we've reached the point in our discussion when we must simply agree to disagree. Julie

I disagree (and I think you're really reaching, now.) Most people deserve enough credit for understanding that, if a dzo temporarily closes his dz for vacation, repairs, illness, lack of staff, etc., it does not constitute an ongoing lack of good faith in providing services. It's a reasonable, temporary situation and not an ongoing attempt to keep USPA members in good stand away permanently. There's a huge difference, which I don't believe is lost on most people. I can't understand how you could possibly believe that a guy going on vacation is worse than a USPA Group Member dropzone having a permanent, blanket ban on thousands of USPA Individual members who have done nothing wrong. No, they would not. The history of the fatalities would constitute a legitimate safety concern. Again, you're really reaching here, IMO. I don't fear that skydivers and dzo's will succeed in using a code of ethics to harm competing dz's. A few may try, but I don't think it would be difficult to see through insincere complaints. No, I don't believe that USPA is willing to create a special judiciary for this; nor do I believe that one is needed. This can be handled in the same manner that other complaints are currently handled. Not if he continued to ban the rest of the membership. He would still be imposing a ban on tens of thousands of USPA members who have done nothing to warrant being banned from a USPA Group Member dropzone. Julie

Well, what this rule actually says is, "If you wish to be affiliated with and supported by our association, then you must act in good faith to provide your services to its members." I think that's a reasonable requirement. My objections would go away if Skydive L.V. either: a. Acted in good faith to provide USPA members in good standing with the services of the dz; or b. Was not affiliated with USPA. Whether or not he requires his tandems to join is of no concern to me. Julie

Of course, meaning is added if you include the last sentence of number 1, instead of snipping it out. Specific allowances for "just cause" would, of course, need to be a part of any such pledge requirement. There's no reason why such common things couldn't be included in valid reasons for being unable to provide service. And no, it wouldn't be like nailing jelly to a tree. It's just soooo much easier to throw up one's hands and say, "Well, we just have to put up with it. No since in trying to change it, because things will only get worse." If any dzo wants to institute a widespread ban on fun jumpers who are USPA individual members in good standing, that's fine by me----AS LONG AS THAT DROPZONE IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH USPA. When the dropzone receives any manner of support from USPA, which is supported with our dollars, then that dropzone should lose its group membership privileges if it refuses to serve the majority of USPA members in good standing. It's the practice, not the individual, which is at issue. Mr. Hawkes would have the same opportunity as every other dzo to decide whether he would prefer to live with a code of ethics or become a non-affiliated dzo. No, you don't avoid the issue as long as your dues are used to support that dz. A tandem factory which doesn't welcome USPA members doesn't bother me either, unless it's USPA Group Member. Julie

Oh, I'll bet it wouldn't be all that difficult. Here's a couple of suggestions to start: 1. In order to be affiliated with USPA, a dropzone must not refuse service to any USPA individual member in good standing without just cause. (As an aside, items which would constitute "just cause" could be negotiated among those charged with the task of developing a code of ethics.) 2. In order to be affiliated with USPA, the owner(s) of a dropzone will pledge that business conducted by or on behalf of the dropzone will be conducted without the employment of deceptive advertising, or false claims made by the dropzone owner(s), its employees, or others working under contract with the dropzone. Julie

Peace and blue skies for our fallen brother. For Debbie: May happy memories of your loved one strengthen you, sustain you, and help you to heal. Julie

My pleasure, bro! Thanks for serving me the tequila and lime so nicely. Welcome to the clan! Zofo

I know what you mean. Both of my RB parents are close friends, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The initiation ritual was new to us then, and we thought it would be too perverted for them to do body shots off of me; so we used the other option of just sharing a bottle of (very good) tequila. Ahh, the memories!

Were you thrown upon the altar, Clay? Some nights it got so crowded that I couldn't see who was there. (This failure to see had nothing to do with alcohol or chemical impairment, of course.) If not, this is an omission that must be remedied. Zofo

LOL! We bumpy brothers are soooo ladylike! Zofo

Wow......Glad to see that he found a "thrill". BTW Rev, since you documented the WFFC so well, there must be some "interesting" pictures of you in that hot little camera of yours. Let's see 'em! Julie

Vaginas are far more valuable than penises. If you have a vagina, you can have all the penises you want. Julie

Here are some of mine: "Is it too early for pressed ham?" --Elvisio, just before he mooned the other balloon chase car. "Uh oh. We'd better check the place for bombs, now that he's here."--Cajones when he called "Treetop, a.k.a Lord of the Sky" to the altar. "Oh, man.....he needs to shave that thing!"--Papachulo, while Estilo was mooning us. "Where are we now? How did we get here?"--me, at our camper just after I assured everyone that I really hadn't had very much to drink. "Are you just kidding or are you really using that shrub to hold yourself up?"--Papachulo to me on a particularly crazy night. "Hey, look! There's gold flecks in there!" -- Papachulo, examining the contents of the bowl he was holding for me after the Goldschlager. "Why don't we stand together so we can hold each other up?"---Ganja, I think. "I won't win, because I'm not gonna flash anything."--Cazadora before the wet t-shirt contest. "Ya know, if we knew Rod better we could make him buy beer for that."--Not telling who said that one Julie

This reminds me of something that I learned at WFFC. I was with a 25 y.o. male friend at Scotty Carbone's beads-for-boobs thing. My friend took away my camera and got pics of EVERY set of boobs, regardless of age, size, firmness, stretch marks,etc.. He was just like a kid in a candy store. When I asked him why he had to have pics of boobs that had....well.....seen better days.....he and the other guys in my group explained, "It doesn't matter what they look like----we just want to see them all!" Is that true of most guys or are my friends just unusually boob-obsessed? Julie