Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The Quest Continues Still

Crouched  in the door of a twin prop modified skydiving plane at thirteen thousand feet, I am strapped to Joe Johnson, a member of the golden knights, but more importantly someone in whom I have trusted my life, as it is perched in the doorway of the loud plane. I feel for a moment that I am staring at a huge map that has very clear detail. I am at that moment thrust into a surreal, impossible leap into emptiness. Nothing I have ever done in my entire life could be compared to jumping out of an airplane while looking at the ground thirteen thousand feet below. This is truly a unique feeling. Only a second or two of my stomach pushing on my throat, then the hurricane of wind pulled my arms and legs upward. We were flying. I'm not moving my hands and arms very much while we're falling. The day before, we stopped at the indoor skydiving building and I watched how the slightest movement of the arms or legs sent the jumper bouncing and tumbling through the tunnel. I'm a bit wary of flailing my limbs while in a real free fall. The video tells the rest of the story. I contained my excitement well, but this was by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life.