2001. I was at a company weekend at a KOA in Sonoma, CA. Found out a small airport was adjacent offering skydiving. I was 51 at the time. I jumped 38 times at the age of 29 but not since. So rather than go through 8 hours of training to do a static line jump, I did a tandem.
The schmuck that was my man bragged about how many thousands of jumps he had done.. Yeah, yeah.
We jump from 19,000 feet.
Around 7,000 feet we pull the rip cord. My head flies back and clocks him in the jaw and knocks him out. So instead of floating down like a butterfly and coming to the ground on tippy toes, he drove me into the ground at 35mph...and no helmet for me because it would look better in the video.
When I woke up, everything was broken.
Didn't walk again until 2003. Didn't work again until 2005.
Never had any surgery. Those damn orthopods would see me for 5 minutes and rub their greedy hands together. I refused all surgery. So instead, I sought out pain management.
Now that I'm an old fart, the pain is off the scale.
Had my first MRI's today in 7 years.
Lots of herniated discs and lots of other problems.
I sort of knew that because the pain had to come from somewhere. But I lost my job in Dec 2008 and haven't worked since. I'm a structural engineer in commercial construction. No one is hiring guys my age.
I qualified for Medicaid two weeks ago.
My wife and I live in my daughter's basement.
I used to buy lots of cigars. No more. A small budget per month. I cherish all of them.
I'm still not going to have surgery. When I'm crippled and can't walk, maybe then.
Back pain is a *****. Just wondered if I could hear other horror stories about human structural destruction.
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HOLY F_ING SH*T! Makes me very happy I never tried to skydiving.
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It's a whole bunch of fun except for that last foot if something goes wrong.
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Uh huh, okay :-)
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All the more reason I'll refuse to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

Sorry to hear that.
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I have never been in a plane, and I sure as heck aint jumping out of one! But glad your here to share that story with us brother!
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Dang bro that really sucks! My sister went skydiving and loved it. I always have the worst luck when it comes to trying new things. Something always goes wrong lol. I hope your condition gets better though.
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If I had a dime anytime anyone said that to me...
First of all, if you've ever seen the inside of the jump planes, you wouldn't call them a perfectly good airplane. The look like the inside of a partially wired dump truck. You can't wait to get out.
If you don't kill yourself, the rush is nothing like anything you've experienced in your life. Drugs don't even come close to approximating the adrenaline rush.
And unlike the films you've seen where it looks like everyone is flying...you're not. You're falling at 130mph. Like a boulder. You're supposed to keep your mouth shut when you are free falling. But it's fun to open it up and watch your face blow up like a balloon.
Everyone should do it once in their lifetime. I was a fluke.
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I'm sure you've heard it a lot...but I also have a pilot's license, hence my logic to stay behind the yoke. If the plane isn't going down, I'm sure not jumping out of it on my own accord.
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I did quite a bit of skydiving in my 30's, Phillip. A bad last jump convinced me to give it up. Luckily it was the freefall and not the landing where I had the problem.
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And all this time, I thought the look of that mug was simple genetics...
Go Figger....





:-):-):-)
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I am a licensed Paraglider pilot, running off a cliff with inflated glider, and have flown planes. I once experienced "parachutage" basically a partially slowed fall off a cliff for 100' That HURT! I can't even imagine how hard you hit.
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I stuck one of my smoking fingers on a thorn bush today. Almost kept me from smoking a cigar for a good 15 minutes! :-)
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Now that has to be one of the funniest posts since the birth of Cigar Asylum.
:-)
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Image

:-)
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Some old lady turned me into a newt once.



I got better.
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Was thinking about going to do this for my upcoming birthday but that's a good reason not to. Hope everything works out for the better for you.
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That got rep. I laughed so hard it hurt. :-)
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Duane,
I'm sure your plane or any plane you fly is very nice. I jumped out of Cessna 183's and everything was ripped out behind the pilot's seat. The door was gone.
The interior wiring is hanging down instead of taped in place.
And the only thing in the back is a giant eye bolt welded to the steel floor for static line jumps. And then they shove3 jumpers and a jump master in this tiny plane and your legs are on top of the other guy's shoulders and you can't move while you wait for the plane to reach elevation. Really, you can't wait to get out.

An old dear friend has a passion for flying. He's owned a plane forever. He finally went to a double engine plane a couple years ago, and now he's sorry he did because of the double maintenance.
He's let me fly a couple times and I don't like it. It's too stressful. I couldn't see the fun in it. Too many things to keep track of. I prefer to fall out of a plane and break my body.
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Bobby,

You're nuts!!
I've seen guys do this.I'm sure it's an incredible rush....but my God, it looks so dangerous.
The only thing I remember about hitting the ground was the "ooomph" and then my head digging a long trench and hearing my spine crackle as it compressed and then I was out cold.
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