The sky I jumped out of
I’m pretty sure “jumping out of a plane” is on just about everyone’s Bucket List. The main drawback for me was always more the price than the actual act of hurling myself out of a tin-can with wings from 14,000 feet in the air. $200?! Do you know how many pairs of shoes I could purchase with that chunk of cash?
Anyway, a few weeks ago I texted a friend & told him I was interested in jumping out of some sort of aviation equipment at some point this summer. His response: “How about next week?”
Uhm. Damn it… Ok.
You see, he’s a bit of a daredevil/skydiving aficionado who’s currently working on becoming certified to jump out of planes alone. Yea. Ok. So I should have known that he would want to go right away. So I boarded a train to Poughkeepsie and got ready to tick the first thing off my Bucket List.
Good to go!
We drove through my old stomping grounds [New Paltz] and headed the “The Ranch.” I calmly suited in a beautiful [hideous] jumping suit with grass stains on the booty. My guide talked me through the harnessing process and we got into the teeny tin-can of a plane and strapped in.
My instructor and I were the last ones to jump. Open the door, stand on the edge – instructor behind me – rock forward (count 1), rock backwards (2), rock forward (3) and drop. Arch your back, legs up, arms out – face to the side if you can’t breathe – check the altimeter and enjoy the ride.
Up, up & awa
To be honest, I thought I was going to be much more nervous. I thought it would be more difficult. I didn’t realize how fast we were going until we hit some fluffy clouds. 120 miles per hour – free falling. Check the altimeter & pull the rip cord. I pulled the rip cord myself. Then it was just…nothing. Quiet. No noise, just a view from 6,000 feet of the beautiful Hudson Valley.
Everyone said it would be such a rush and I really wish that I had some fantastic story about seeing my life flash before my eyes and realizing some profound truth that had been evading me. I feel like I’m missing out on something but NOT having felt that way. I can say that later that day, I had a feeling of comfortable invincibility. It was a pleasantly overwhelming and softly reassuring feeling of I-can-do-anythingness. I’ve felt that way before and I guess I forgot how to make myself feel that way.
It feels nice, even if it took jumping out of a plane to remind me.
Safe & sound
