I not going to defend the decision, but.....

It's Monday afternoon, I'm just back from a very chilly ride up through Coolidge, Superior, and into the Pinal Mountains. It wasn't too bad starting out, but as I climbed higher and higher into steep sided canyons it got colder and colder, and I finally turned around. I  stopped to warm up at a roadside cafe with a full parking lot that had one empty stool at the counter. The waitress called me "Hon', and "Sweety", and had a steaming mug of coffee in front of me before I had even come to a full stop. Everybody in the place seemed to know everybody else and they all wanted to know who I was. It took me twice as long as it should have to eat my lunch because I kept having to introduce myself and shake hands with yet another friendly local. "Where y'all from?", and "Thanks fer visitin!" was the theme.

Before I left home my doctor said that I was good to skydive, and that the joints wouldn't get any stronger if I waited any longer. I'm not going to defend the decision, but yesterday, with a hand picked 4-way, and with the best videographer on the drop zone, wearing the appropriate safety equipment....

I was just a little bit nervous. We were on jump run when Jo reached over and pointed at my belly. I tried to look down to see what she was pointing at but with the collar on I couldn't tilt my head downwards. That's when I realized I wouldn't be able to see my handles in an emergency, and was suddenly seized with panic over whatever it was that had gotten Jo's attention. Smiling away, as always, Jo reached over and undid my seat belt, which I should have done 10 minutes and 11 thousand feet earlier. Everybody had a good laugh at my expense, but it serve to relax me and the jump went off without a hitch.

The usual Invasion silliness is going on, students deciding that after 20 jumps they've got it all nailed and wanting to try things they're not remotely capable of being a constant theme. A videographer spent so much time time getting himself comfortable out on the camera step he didn't even notice that his group climbed out and left, and when the next group climbed out he was just as surprised to see them as they were to see him still clinging to the plane. He let that group and one other group leave before he finally fell off. After he landed he marched over and gave the people he was supposed to get video of shit for leaving without him. Somebody finally pointed out that it was their job to jump, it was his job to get the video, farting around so much you didn't notice them leaving was no excuse.

Diane is on the 4-way camp that started today. On their first jump it was minus 20 degrees at altitude. When they were in the air I was still warm in my bed. A couple of groups chose to stop jumping until it warmed up. It's the coldest I've ever seen it here, on my ride into the mountains this morning there was snow at the side of the road in some canyons. I'd like to do some more jumps, but I'm going to wait until it warms up later in the week.