In 10th grade I used an English assignment “Take a major risk and write about it” as an excuse to go skydiving. At that time I went static-line, which is to say a rope attached to the plane automatically pulled my rip-cord.

This week I returned to the sky, jumping tandem from 14,000 ft. I was in free fall for about a minute, of which I remember only the sensation of my cheeks flapping. It is easily the most intense sensation I have ever felt. Not that such things can be quantified, but I’d say it was three times as crazy as going down the first hill of millennium Force at Cedar Point near my home in Ohio.

The plane was a rickety old thing. I am not exaggerating when I say the trip up felt less secure than the trip down! I guess nothing terrible could have happened after we were at 2,000 ft, if the plane started going down we would have just jumped. Nevertheless I was worried the whole way up!

My flat-mate Milosz (“Me-Losh”) from Norway came along. I loved sky diving, but his reaction made mine look darn-right ordinary. He smiled like a girl who recieved a pony for Christmas.

After the jump are snapshots Milosz took of the day. They are not in chronological order, but the one with the cheeks pulled is taken afterwards and shows how I felt in free fall.