Vacations with my dad began like ritual; the ceremonial collecting of every brochure and pamphlet in sight and the eventual sacrifice of our down time by meticulous scheduling that filled every second of our trip with some or the other activity. Our trip to Cape Town, South Africa was no different. Seconds struggled by as I found myself, once again, waiting for my parents to finish talking to the tourist relations agent in our hotel. They had laid out every single brochure on the counter, and were asking for complete details on each attraction in the area. Knowing I had some time to play with, I started counting floor tiles until something caught my eye towards the back of the room. It was a poster of a lunatic, gleefully falling from an airplane. I got closer and read the caption, “Want the thrill of a life time? Skydive Mosel Bay! First Timers Welcome!” Against my better judgment, I turned to my dad and, pointing to the poster, begged him, “Hey Dad, I don’t care what else we do while we’re here, but I have to do this!” To my pleasant surprise he turned around and grinned, “Okay! As long as I get to go first. If I see you go first, I think I will lose my nerve.” We decided to go the next day. It took us forty minutes to drive out to a tiny airstrip in the outskirts of a city named Mosel Bay. The weather was fantastic when we arrived, with a cool breeze in the air that smelled so faintly of insanity. We were greeted warmly by a gentleman named Hank, a freefall tandem master, whom my dad had talked to the day before to schedule us for the freefall. Hank would be in charge of the freefall. “Welcome to Mosel Bay Gents,” Hank beckoned. As I had recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan, Hank joked, “Y... ... middle of paper ... ... it open. Hank and I began gliding through the air. It took about ten minutes for us to complete the remaining five thousand feet. We touched down on the airfield very softly and were quickly met by my parents. For the rest of the vacation, my Dad and I could not stop talking about our experience. Every joke somehow ended up tying back into jumping out of an airplane. Skydiving was truly one of the most liberating and thrilling experiences of my life. It brought my Dad and I even closer as we shared the occasion and the emotional rollercoaster that it spawned. But the moral of the story is not the general ‘once in a lifetime’ must do activity to open your eyes. Its lesson is more practical and simple: In order to best enjoy a ten thousand foot freefall at one hundred and sixty miles an hour, make sure you wear your parachute! Works Cited Original Work
First as Brian and the pilot were flying to Brian father?s house the pilot was showing Brian how to fly the plane. ? Here, put your hands on the controls, your feet on the rudder pedals, and I?ll show you what I mean?(P. 4). During the flight the pilot seemed to be having trouble with pain in his arm and side. Little did he know that this was a sign of a major heart attack. ? And now a jolt took him like a hammer blow, so forcefully that he seemed to crush back into the seat, and Brian reached for him, could not understand at first what it was, could not know. And then knew? ( P.10). Brian was left all alone, to fly the plane by himself and he knew he didn?t have much of a chance to survive.
The idea of taking risks appeal to most people, but what is actually learned from the act of risk taking? In the two readings, “Breaking through Uncertainty –Welcome Adversity,” by Jim McCormick, and “Neighbours,” by Lien Chao, the benefit derived from taking risks is explored. In McCormick’s article, a parachuting jump mishap leads to his revelation that confidence and certainty can be found. Chao’s short story deals with Sally befriending an elderly couple and joining them for Canada Day celebrations, and along the way realizes what’s important to herself. Though “Breaking Through Uncertainty –Welcome Adversity,” deals with a life saving risk, “Neighbours” is more about a personal risk, something that demonstrates much greater benefits as personal satisfaction.
Paul E. Johnson, with the help of painstakingly thorough research, tells the story of a drunken, deviant, death-defying daredevil that would create his own fame from his many daring stunts. This daredevil, Sam Patch, would become an American icon through folklore and storybooks for his magnificent jumps from the tops of waterfalls into the waters below. The book begins with a look into Sam Patch’s lineage. The most important of Sam’s ancestors’ was his father, whom was a drunkard and ultimately a failure to the family. He lost everything and left the family to fend for themselves. As a young boy, Sam began working in a mill, where he eventually became one of the best “mule spinners” in the town of Pawtucket. It was there that he and a group of other young boys his age began jumping over the Pawtucket Falls, a large waterfall in the town. They treated it like an art, and eventually became known throughout the town for their refined “style.”
I never predicted this beautiful trip ending up as a nightmare in my existence. I drove for approximately 40 minutes and my partner shared the driving for an additional 40 minutes. We were driving my friend mom’s brand new Toyota Camry XLE; one of the most comfortable cars I had ever been in. We enjoyed the elongated ride with new hit music, and air conditioning set to an exact temperature that met our necessities. On the way to the beach some doubts about going there started to circle around our minds, but the fact that we were about half way there made them a...
Pradnya Joshi (2013). Golden Parachutes Are Still Very Much in Style. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/business/golden-parachutes-are-still-very-much-in-style.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Could you see yourself jumping out of a perfectly good airplane traveling at 170 MPH 13,000 feet above the ground? Imagine being the first person to jump out of an airplane, entrusting your life to an unproven piece to technology. Over the past century, skydiving has grown from a madman's fantasy to a international sport.
“Come on, guys,” I yelled at my family, which consists of my mom Madonna, my father John, and my two sisters Alissa and Kara, as I ran frantically across the jam-packed parking lot to the opening gate that led to a world of adventure. As wide as the world around, my eyes pierced at the doorway to a world of fun. Families, of all sizes, were enjoying all the possibilities of fun. Hearing laughter and frightening screams, warned me of the experience waiting for me within the doorway to everlasting amazement. The sweet baked smell of funnel cakes swarmed into the fresh morning air. Before I knew it, my family and I were ready to enter Valleyfair, an amusement park that offers summertime fun to the maximum.
The views were spectacular, and the speed much faster. I had a lot of fun soaring through the air, and judging from the screams and laughter, my fellow zippers were having a great time as well.
Dad tried to give the guard twenty dollars, but he refused. Dad shook his hand and thanked him several times. I could go on and on about the rest of our trip but it would take another twenty pages. Unfortunately this was not the last outburst my father had at Disney World. I can tell you one more thing. Through the chaos Dad finally made it to It’s a Small World with his family. It was the biggest smile he showed through the whole trip, but it wasn’t his last. We have been to Disney World twice since then. We still always ride It’s a Small World and I always bring cotton balls for my ears. The cotton keeps my arms from getting tired.
As we walked to our car, we realized just how much the day had taken out of us physically. We were both bruised and sore from our practice jumps into the gravel pit and very tired. But, at the same time, our souls felt warm and satisfied at discovering that we could overcome our fears and experience the joy and freedom of skydiving.
The instructors brought us to the airplane which was a KingAir plane. That airplane didn't have and independent seats like the civil aircrafts. We all had to sat very close to each other one by one. After fastening me tightly with him, Daniel give a pair of goggles. "you have to put it firmly on your face, otherwise it will be blow away by the super high speed caused by freefall.", He said. While the plane started to climb, I could feel that my heart was beating out. Daniel asked me some questions, and let me smile to the GoPro on his arm. That was for the video which they record the whole process. The only words I could say at that time were "yes, no". I was focusing on the people who jumped before me. They looked like they had been disappeared from this world. Finally, it was my turn to jump. Daniel pushed me to the opened door. The only thing I could see at that moment was the clouds looked like a big cozy bed. When I opened my eyes again, I had been out of the cabin door. After a few seconds of weightlessness, I had finally experienced the feeling of fly. I felt the unprecedented freedom, it seems that the entire sky belongs to me. The only thing in my view was the white, the blue, and the GoPro. Daniel released the parachute after we came under the clouds. A huge colorful parachute opened. I was able to see the green land and cars. Everything was so beautiful. He made us spin around in the air like playing in
is not just a free fall and a parachute ride, but an extreme thrill of
After we got off the airplane, we rented a car and drove to my Uncle Joe?s house. We finally got there and then we all went out to eat dinner. We went to some Italian restraunt and boy was it good. To this day, I have never tasted anything as good as the Veal Picata I had that day. I ate so much that I could hardly move and once I got back to my uncle?s, I just passed out and went to bed. I had a big and exciting day ahead of me. I was going to Universal Studios and I couldn?t wait.
Skydiving has been around since ancient Chinese times as a form of aerial stunts. Leonardo da Vinci and the Chinese are both credited for creating the parachute, but it was really in the 18th century when France both created it and used it by basically throwing themselves out of planes. Little did anyone know that skydiving would be one of the craziest sports today. Jumping out of a plane two and a half miles up into the sky would not be someone’s idea of a normal day. As bad as two and a half miles up in the sky is, try doing it traveling at a rate of one-hundred and sixty miles per hour with just a parachute to save you. To many people this would be a nightmare; but to some of us, it is the biggest thrill of our lives.
We had to score 100% in order to pass the test. Everybody passed after taking the test at least twice. the minute I got on that plane I started shaking from fear ,then the plane starts rising slowly till suddenly I felt air hitting me in the face I looked and the doors started sliding slowly and a green lights goes on , everybody on the plane started jogging towards the door and they took me with them , I jumped ,I jumped from a plane 15000 ft high in the sky , the feeling was amazing the wind blowing every muscle in my face , and the power of the wind pressure holding me I the sky swimming in between the clouds and most exciting is seeing birds flying pass me ,the minute we started slowing down while landing , Althpugh it was fun ,exciting and heart beating but I will never think of doing it again in any place else besides Dubai, the stunning view of the palm island and the water passing between the island leafs was so gorgeous that it is carved in my memory till this day and I am imagining it in front of my eyes the while I am typing this memoir essay.