But there are a few surprises hidden under this balding, white-dude exterior. For example, I skydived one time. Really. Here's a video. And an article I wrote about the experience for Volume One. So there.
Airborne
 |
| Photo by Nick Meyer |
I could not sleep the night before my skydive. I was not necessarily scared. I just could not picture what it would be like. My only experiences with 10,000 feet had been in the sterile stomachs of commercial airplanes. I could not anticipate how it would feel to fall out of an airplane and, five minutes later, gently hit the ground. I was reassured by the conversations I had with people who had previously plummeted to the ground. Ken Szymanski, a fellow Volume One contributor, had learned to skydive for a bachelor party and had completed a solo jump. Megan Zabel, another Volume One regular, had jumped in New Zealand, and she had given me her videotape of the flight. Even with these successful experiences in my mind, all I could think of was a conversation my brother and I had with a mutual friend who had completed a jump. He said that everyone has a different moment where the reality of what you are doing sets in and the rush of fear or adrenaline or shock hits. I could not picture what my moment would be like.
On a brilliant Saturday evening in August, my brother Joel
and I, flanked by V1 editor Nick Meyer, my wife, and a few supportive friends,
drove to the Indianhead Sport Parachute Club located on Lake Wissota. The
entire outfit, including the planes, fields, and buildings, is owned by Robert
Stumm, a successful businessman and serious skydiving enthusiast. I had spoken
with Mr. Stumm on several occasions prior to our jump day. I knew he and
several members of the club were award-winning skydivers with impressive lists
of qualifications and certifications. I knew he alone jumps over 700 times a
year, and I knew the fourteen person staff of ISPC has completed a combined
total of over 53,000 jumps. I did the math. That equals 600 million feet, which
is about halfway to the moon. I knew these people were insanely qualified and
experienced professionals. But the culture of ISPC, was, like my moment, something
else I could not have anticpated.
The clubhouse is a big room filled with TVs, old couches and
recliners, and a constant parade of people packing parachutes and gearing up for
jumps. Based on the seriousness of the activity, I had expected a no-nonsense
facility and solemn, serious people. Instead, we were greeted with Miller High
Life signs, a rambunctious black lab puppy, and people hanging out and eating
bratwurst. After checking in, Mary, one of ISPC’s more experienced skydivers,
found waiver forms for us under some bags of chips on the counter. She took us
to the back room and showed us a video that discussed the risks associated with
skydiving. The narrator of the video was a middle-aged gentleman with a beard
at least down to the middle of his chest who quoted skydiving statistic from 1988.
I looked at my brother, and I could tell we were thinking the same thing. What kind of place is this?
After we watched a dozen or so skydivers land, and talked with the members of the club and several first-time jumpers, we realized that
it was the perfect atmosphere for skydiving. These people are not jumping out
of planes with novices because it is their job. They are doing it because they
genuinely enjoy it. Personally, I would much rather plummet to the earth
attached to someone who was having fun instead of someone who was only there to
pay the cable bill.
My brother and I would be completing a tandem jump, which is
the easiest of the jumps offered by ISPC. We would be strapped to a
professional by a harness. This person worries about getting out of the plane,
positioning during free-fall, steering,
and landing. The training for the tandem jump only takes about an hour, and
most of this training consists of your instructor highlighting all of the
safety features of the parachute and harness. ISPC also offers static line
training, which takes considerably longer, but ultimately prepares you to jump
by yourself. If you are especially taken by skydiving, ISPC will also teach you
how to pack your chute, earn certification, and become a professional skydiver.
Joel and I met the person we would each be attached to as we
fell – Margaret. Margaret was awesome. She was relaxed yet professional as she
explained how we should lean when we exited the plane and where our feet should
be when we were free-falling. She was wearing Teva sandals, which was weirdly
refreshing. Skydiving can not be that horrible if you can do it
wearing sandals. We also met the rest of the colorful cast of ISPC, including
Ronnie, a tall guy with a stupefying amount of energy, Jamie, a female who
looked younger that I am, and the president of the club and the photographer,
Todd, among numerous others. Ronnie gave perhaps the best description of
skydivers. “We are a different group, a unique breed. But if it’s your first time
at a new drop zone, you are automatically part of the group.”
 |
| Joel's jump; photo by Nick Meyer |
When asked why someone would want to skydive, Bob Stumm
said, “You will never have a boring weekend again.” As Margaret and I floated
to the ground, I understood what he meant. The rush was indescribable. I do not
think it has fully sunk in, even days after the jump. I was nervous, but Ronnie
was exactly right. “Everyone comes in nervous, but everyone leaves saying,
‘We’ll be back.’”
(Actual jump is at 7:00)
