If You Screw This Up........

It's Sunday morning, the second day of the big-way camp. and I've stood down
from it to help Brian get the jumps he needs for his B COP finished. He
hasn't shown up yet so I'm getting an early start on this.

I just received one of the best compliments I've ever received in my
skydiving career. I was passing John Smith (a videographer of some minor
note) who is doing video for the camp and asked him how his day was going.
He replied "We sure could have used you on that last skydive." A simple
comment, nothing special, but coming from a man who has a reputation for
holding nothing back and zero bullshit tolerance it means a a lot more than
a comment from Jimmy-Joe-Jumper. The man has done thousands of skydives
videoing everything that can happen in the sky, and I've learned to respect
both his attitude and opinion on a number of subjects.

I found out Beth is going to be pied for a second time tonight for her 500th
jump because Tim did such a lame job the first time. I'm in a bit of a
quandary. I't's not fair to get pied twice for the same accomplishment, even
if the first one was botched. Should I warn her, as I'm very tempted to do?
Or just let it play out? She leaves tonight, so that will probably mean she
heads to Phoenix with whipped cream and meringue in her hair. I'll probably
stay neutral, but I do feel guilty about it, she's been pretty good to me on
this trip, and her invitation was the main reason I came.

7:46 In the evening in the Bent Prop Saloon.

The day was pretty relaxed. When I got tired of waiting for Brian I finally
picked up my crap and headed over to the main hangar to join the locals on a
skydive. While waiting for the dirt dive to start I heard an announcement
over the P.A. "Anybody who was on that last dive with Team Flail and lived,
and would like to do another one, please meet in the hangar." Hmmm. I wonder
who they are? We're the only people in the hangar. I started to get nervous as I concluded that Team Flail was the group I'd joined.

As I looked around at the other six people during the dirt dive I realized I
was the youngest person there by about 15 years. I figured this was either
going to go really well, or very very bad. As I walked and most of them
limped to the plane I thought either these guys with their beat-up faded
jumpsuits, leather helmets, and old pop-top containers were going to be
fantastic in the air and I was going to have a tough time keeping up, or
this was going to be full body-contact Combat Relative Work. It turned out
to be something in between.

We launched a 4-way base out of the Skyvan, which immediately took a hard
hit that would have taken out a less solid group, the offending dive-bomber
then flipped end over end out of sight and I never saw him again. Not even
on the ground. I flashbacked on the "Team Flail" announcement. Either he
went in or he slunk away in shame after landing. Another one bites the dust
Arizona style.

After that it went great. We zipped through a 5 point 6-way (formerly 7-way)
skydive twice, all the docks were clean, and we all just adapted to cover
the missing person.

Brian had shown up by then, and we went up for our first Coach jump. I felt
like I was a Matador and he was the Bull. Every time he charged at me I'd
step out of the way to let him pass before he hit me. I couldn't understand
it. He'd done a spectacular job on a similar dive a couple of days ago.

After we landed, he got some food, got his head screwed on straight, we went
back up, and he aced the dive. You have to have your mind in this game for
it to work. We made a quick turn-around and he aced the next one as well. A
videographer of some minor note even wandered over to make the observation
that he thought the kid had done an excellent job of handling the landing in
very difficult winds. Not that anybody cares what he thinks.

At one point we were sitting on the tram by the main boarding area as a load
came in past us for landing. One guy who was swooping in at high speed was
coming up about 100 feet short and was going to have to slide across the
asphalt. I was already cringing and speculating on how long he would be in
intensive care getting skin grafts when he suddenly rocked back on his heels
to reveal he was wearing wheelies! He went screaming along to finish his
flare on the grass to a round of applause.

The Big Way camp soldiered on without me, at times times rising to heights
of glory, at times descending to Farce. From what I heard the most
entertaining part was when Paul was diving to his slot and had to dodge
people all the way, which shouldn't happen. After he collided with Lyal, he
chewed him out in freefall, complete with colorful hand gestures, before
suddenly realizing he was the offending party because he was on the wrong
side of the formation.

Beth finally did get pied, and it was with chocolate cream, her favorite, so
she didn't really seem to mind. Also pied for their 500th were Bruce from
Eden North, and Joanne Chantigny from Mile High. Joanne has bought $60 worth
of beer which at American prices should be enough to fill a pickup truck as
her fine.

Beth and Tim are gone now, and they've been such a constant in the rhythm of
the last 9 days that it will be strange to not have them around. I look
forward to spending some quality time with them again. Practically family.

Doug gave us homework for the Level II canopy control course that starts
tomorrow. It all seems to focus on one thing.
"If You Screw This Up, You Will Die!" Also referred to as "Trial and
Femur."

Yippee

Can't wait for class to start. Again I flashback to the "Team Flail"
announcement.

What could possibly go wrong? It's not like we're doing CRW!
Larry