There’s something about sitting down to dinner that builds a family in a way few activities can. I blame this very ritual on the closeness of my own family, and the friends I’m closest to are often the ones I’ve shared many meals with. My skydiving “family” is the same.
Tonight we went out to dinner as a unit since one of the “kids” leaves for the military tomorrow. (I refer to my generation of jumpers as the “kids”, and the rest of ‘em as the “adults”. Helps me keep things straight.) Just like when I’m at home, we sat at the table long after all our bellies were full, and the goodbyes afterwards were drawn out and full of hugs and kisses on the cheek and more hugs and well wishes and it was kind of solemn but mostly just kind of nice. To know that outside of sharing all of the crazy fun of our sport, we also care a lot.
I’ve learned that my dropzone isn’t like many others. We’re tiny, perhaps the littlest in the state, and we’re only open on the weekends. A day with more than 5 or 6 tandems is a busy day, and if we have enough fun jumpers for two rotating loads (4 per load) then business is hopping. Because there are so few of us, it doesn’t take long to get to know everyone and which weekends they’ll be out and even who flies what size and what color canopy. Unlike many other dropzones, we don’t party it up at the end of the day. I’m told things used to be crazier in previous generations, but I’m glad they’re not now.
We are the kind of dropzone where the owner will not only give me his daughter’s old main canopy because he knows it’ll be months before I can afford my own, but he’ll make adjustments to my container and even help me swap my risers in the middle of everything else. If someone has something to celebrate, we all celebrate, and if something bad happens, well, we hope that a) it wasn’t too bad, and b) it was on video.
With the pace at my dz, I can learn. I can watch, and even on a day like today when I only get to make one jump, I never have to stop moving or learning or watching. (I managed two good sit flys and a stand on today’s jump–I’ve been spending a lot of time doing solo freefly practice!) And just to be out there on the airport, which is usually pretty quiet on the weekends, is to kind of feel like there’s not anything going on anywhere else in the world. As if I wasn’t already enraptured enough by the sky, the bigness is even bigger out at the airport, and the sunsets are incredible. Sometimes I like to lay down on the pavement by the hangars and soak in the sensations and feelings of being in a place I love and to feel saturated in life.
I'm a California native with a deep appreciation for all things active--climbing, camping, skydiving, & learning to run happen to be among my favorites. I rarely sit still except to read or sleep, and I operate on the philosophy that each day deserves to be lived to the hilt. 