Why did I start skydiving? I'll try to refrain from too much bullshit. I have always been jealous that men get to do all these cool things and I couldn't. Well that *is* bullshit because ultimately I can do what I want (I just better be prepared to pay for it). I dated a man in who was airborne-qualified and I saw his army unit jump once. That jealousy thing kicked in - he got to jump out of planes and run around in the woods and camp out and shit. Anyway, the opportunity to try a jump came up much later in life (12 years later) and I did it. Scared the hell out of me until I got out the door - then the only word I can use is euphoric. I was doing it! I was stable and falling through the air at 120 miles an hour - my jumpmasters were beside me, smiling and nodding as I got through the skydive. Then I opened my parachute and sailed to the ground. I knew I would have to do it again. The second time I did it I was hooked. Here was something I could do finally that was fairly unique, here was something I did that took bravery.

And skydivers (as much as I complain about them) are pretty simplistic about their rules - if you skydive, welcome to the club. I am shy but I have always had an easier time of going to a drop zone and meeting people ( the 7:1 ratio of men to women probably doesn't hurt, either). I met my husband about 3 months after I started skydiving.

A side note - That jealousy thing is a sore spot and something I'm embarrassed about. I know the truth - the truth is society can give you shit about something but it can't really stop you from doing what you want. I am my limits.

What I like about skydiving: I do like the people - I was once on a 4-way skydive and realized I was in the air with a fireman, an astronaut, and a chicken farmer. Nothing matters except we all like leaving airplanes in mid-flight. I like the freedom - we don't get out there and flail about -all of our movements are controlled and we can do what we want (with a little practice). With this ultimate freedom comes the ultimate responsibility- we can never forget that there's a planet coming toward us at about 120 miles an hour. But then comes the other fun thing about skydiving: the canopy ride.

Modern-day parachutes are more like airfoils than umbrellas. I find the canopy ride relaxing, and I have seen some incredible sights suspended under a canopy 1000 feet in the air. An incoming thunderstorm, for one. It was a ways off, but I could see it moving and the lightning flashing underneath the thunderhead and the rain patterns between the clouds and the ground. From the ground a thunderstorm is clouds and rain and noise. From the air it is a majestic, malevolent entity. I often see nearby hawks soaring on thermals, hunting for lunch. Seeing a sunset on the last load of the day. Getting near to a cloud and feeling that rare sense of movement that you only get when you are close to the ground. Getting over a cloud and landing on and going through my shadow.

I'll bitch about skydiving a lot. Once I get out the door I remember why I do it.