The whole skydiving experience began days before with the anticipatory anxiety which you already know about. So the morning of, I ate a small, mild breakfast in preparation and drove down to Laurel, Delaware. We missed the turn into the airfield because it’s not a big airport. There is no paved runway. It is surrounded by cornfields. We turned around and drove down the gravel path. With my nerves tightening, I was grateful for the breakfast choice.

We found the manifest office and began the check-in process. We had a release package that required initials at each paragraph and lots of signatures and personal information, including who to call “in case of emergency.” One paragraph we were instructed to cross out and initial that we agreed not to agree with its contents. In doing so we were relinquishing litigation rights. The woman in the office said that if we didn’t want to sign away those rights, we could still fly, but it would cost an additional $700.
“So you’re asking me to bet $700 that I’m going to make it back safely?”
She grinned at me through the teller window and cocked her head to the side.
“Basically, yes.”
I signed.

We had not anticipated the volume of skydivers and had about 4 plane loads ahead of us, so the waiting began. Although it was a beautiful day for skydiving, it was very hot on the ground. In that cornfield there was no combination of shade and breeze. The places to sit in the shade were partially enclosed and therefore stifling. I felt like I was melting. My nose looks like Rudolph’s and I have the reverse raccoon thing going on from the sunglasses effect. If you go, I recommend sunscreen.

The three hour wait only served to increase the excitement and nervousness. We were able to watch loads ahead of us take off. We could see the professionals rolling up their chutes. We browsed the great collection of t-shirts. My favorite said, “Live life ad 120mph.” 120mph is terminal velocity: the maximum speed of any falling object when air resistance is factored out. I opted for the skydiver’s necklace which has the closing pin as a charm.

Knowing my nervous reaction often wreaks havoc with my bladder, I decided to find the restrooms. I noticed the restrooms had a no-frills shower. Why, I wondered, was there a shower at the airfield? I didn’t think people stayed here overnight. Then I remembered some of my fears related to bodily control in extreme panic situations. Perhaps that was a well founded fear. Did they install showers for the purpose of cleaning up skydivers who reacted as I feared I might? This question did not have any soothing effect on my nerves.

We watched the loads of jumpers before us as the appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the sky above us. You could barely see them before their chutes opened. Then the chutes opening into a gentle kaleidoscope above us. The daredevils drifted serenely to the ground, always landing on their feet, sometimes taking a few steps at a jogging pace. Two of the jumpers on the plane load before us were blind. One of the blind jumpers also was a scuba diver. All the jumpers left the landing sight smiling and laughing. Watching them kept my excitement high. It looked like so much fun.

I asked a passing man how his jump was. “Oh, it has its ups and downs.” I chuckled, but then the anxiety kicked in. What did he mean by that?

Finally our plane load was called to the packing area. I met my videographer, Glenn, who had a helmet with a still camera and a video camera strapped onto it. It didn’t look particularly aerodynamic. Once I suited up, he began the recording. He asked me what got me into this. I replied, “Talking to strangers.” The guy I was jumping with was once of the heavy equipment operators I met on the beach that fun day in March. It was his first jump too. He was just as excited, but less anxious than I.

I was jumping tandem for my first dive. That means I am strapped to an expert diver. My tandem guide was Mike, the guy who said skydiving had its ups and downs. He is 68. I want to be 68 like that: fit, vibrant, funny, and daring. He put me at ease and help me rehearse all the necessary moves. When I was all prepped, I helped him carry the packed chute over to the loading zone. It was much heavier than I expected. His cohorts saw me helping him and joked that I was going to have to go back for his oxygen tank next.

Tomorrow’s post I will tell you about the ups and downs of skydiving. It was an amazing experience: too much for one blog entry.