"It's not the fall that hurts, it's when you hit the ground"

I usually post these things to both Facebook and Blogger, but for some reason, I didn't post this here yet. It's dated October 17, 2009. Seriously, the most exhilarating experience of my life. I highly recommend it. (Photo by Roger P. Major of the Connecticut Parachutists, Inc.)

From my Facebook post:

I had the most amazing experience of my life today. Although I've never really considered myself a thrill seeker, adrenaline junkie, or even much of a risk taker, today, I jumped out of an airplane 10,500 feet off the ground.

OK, so it was a tandem jump. So I really didn't need to remember to pull the cord, or, well, anything. And statistically speaking, a tandem jump is much safer than even crossing the street.

"Yeah, but you don't need to sign a waiver to cross the street," more than one pessimist responded. I didn't care. I still felt like I had to do it. My father did it. My mother did it. Technically, I already did it, as my mother was pregnant with me at least one time she jumped.

It was amazing. Have I said that already? Let me tell you about it.

We went through a few basics before we even got in the plane. Jim, my tandem instructor, told me that when we approached the door, I was to lean back, rest my head on his shoulder, hold onto my harness, and tuck my legs underneath the plane. Then, we would jump, he'd do a quick safety check (in the air!!) and tap me on the shoulder to let me know I could release my harness and put my hands out in the air.

But it all happened so quickly, I didn't even think about it. I'm not gonna lie: The first few seconds after we jumped out of the plane were the most terrifying of my life. Free fall. My body was traveling at about 120 mph. The best way to approximate this feeling is to stick your hand out the car window while you're driving on the highway. That's about a fraction of what you feel during this free fall.

I also experienced the strongest, most intense "HolyshitOhmygodIjustjumpe

doutofaplaneImgonnadie!!!" sensation I've ever had in my life. I even felt like I couldn't breathe. Jim explained later that this is a product of your body's "fight or flight" reaction. Your blood rushes to all your internal organs and you can have difficulty breathing. I gulped in air because I knew I wasn't underwater and theoretically could still breathe. Consequently, I look kind of like a goldfish in some of the pictures Roger the videographer snapped while we were in the air.

The free fall didn't last very long, though. Or it might have. I'm not really sure. I had pretty much no sense of time while I was doing this. Or space, or distance, or speed.

Once Jim deployed the parachute, I felt like everything just stopped. It was cold, and I was still about 5,000 feet off the ground, but it was actually quite peaceful and relaxing. We had a beautiful view of the New England scenery, and everything was just... quiet. Peaceful. Relaxing.

Jim did a few more safety checks and loosened my harness. (As much as loosening your harness mid-air sounds like a bad idea, Jim explained that it actually makes it easier for the jumper to breathe, and it makes landing easier.)

He steered the parachute over the field where we were to land and instructed me to stick my feet out straight in front of me. I slid to a stop, mostly on my ass. It's OK because I was wearing a jumpsuit.

Once I landed, I couldn't stop giggling. Actually, I've been breaking out into giggle fits all day whenever I think about it, especially those first few seconds out of the plane. I immediately felt like I had to run everywhere. I had so much excess energy to burn off. Or maybe it was the adrenaline. I don't know.

The bottom line is that it was an incredible, exhilarating, life-affirming experience, and if you're thinking even just a little bit about going on a tandem jump, then you should absolutely do it. I highly, highly recommend it.

The end. :)