Guess what I did today?!?!

Summer of 2004, Tim McGraw’s song “Live Like You Were Dying” came out. I went to his concert with my friends, Wendy and Annette. We all loved that song and truly made an effort to live somewhat spontaneously. I believe this is when the idea of the list began, but I didn’t start actually writing some of the things down until later. Then, in October 2004, my friend, Wendy, was in a pretty serious car accident. She had a few months of recovery and that Christmas she gave me and Annette gift cards to go skydiving at Skydive Carolina. You know from the line in the song….”I went Skyyyyyyyydivin.” You know the one. You’re welcome, since now it’s stuck in your head.

When I told my dad what she had gifted us, he said “Don’t tell me when you go. Just call me after and say, ‘guess what I did today.’” So, on June 11, 2005, we decided to go. That morning my parents called to chat and I told them I was headed to the mall with Annette and Wendy to do a little shopping. I was actually in the car headed to Skydive Carolina in Chester, SC to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.

We arrived and filled out our waivers and went in for our quick classroom portion of the “training” for the jump. Then, they sent us outside to the area where we met our tandem instructors and get our equipment. (I will also mention Wendy did not join us for the jump. She was our official on-the-ground photographer.) Then they ask you if you want photos or a video. I decided it definitely needed to be documented because there would be a good chance this will never happen again. They get you with the upsell, an extra $99 for the photo/video package (I’m sure that price has gone up by now). We got our jumpsuits on and they gave us helmets, an altimeter, and goggles. We moved to the area to wait for the plane to return to pick us up. I was partnered with a guy that didn’t look much older than me named Gene. Looking back on it, I never asked him how many times he’d jumped out of a plane or what qualified him. I just trusted that he knew what he was doing, and everything would be fine. Man, was I naïve.

We boarded the plane. It was a cargo-type plane with a large back door. There were benches along each wall that we sat on and several people even sat on the floor including my friend, Annette and her tandem partner. We chatted for a while on the plane trying not to think about the fact we were about to jump. I remember my videographer, Terry, asking me if I was nervous and I said no. All while I was chomping on my gum quite aggressively which may have indicated that might be lying. As we approached our jump altitude of 14,000 feet, we started to get hooked together with our tandem partners. Then all the sudden the plane started to bounce around a bit and there were a lot less people on board.

The first group out was 8-10 people that were part of a stunt group. You know the ones that make formations during free fall. We get in line and next thing I know, the people in front of us fall out of the plane and oh crap, it’s our turn. There’s no time to think about it. No time to change your mind. The count of three and your backflipping your way out of the plane. The initial free fall is quite intense. You’re plummeting towards the ground at around 100 to 120 mph. I don’t think I was all that scared at the time because the ground was just so far away. You weren’t in the mindset that you could hit it really hard. You felt like there was plenty of time. Terry, my videographer, was trying to have Gene do tricks like grab his hand and spin in circles. That’s all well and good, but I’m just wondering if it’s time to pull the cord to release the chute. I don’t need Gene distracted right now; he needs to focus.

When you pull the cord on a parachute, a couple of things run through your mind. One is woah. Your whole body gets a jolt. You go from freefalling flat on your belly to being vertical with your feet nearly up over your head in a pike position as you go from 100 mph to a nice gentle glide. Second, is thank goodness. It opened!

Gliding around under the canopy is truly an incredible experience. I had a set of hand controls that Gene told me I could use to steer us around with. Can’t even lie, I didn’t. I was so scared that I would mess something up that I just let it be. You could see forever up there soaring around. There was this dirt circle on the ground. Gene let me know, that was our target. Time for the landing. Knees up to your chest and we start getting REALLY close to the ground. Most people come skidding in on their behind, but I landed it on my feet. Looking back, that was probably a pretty dumb thing to do because I could have really hurt myself but nonetheless, I stuck the landing.

I’m on such an adrenaline rush that I try to take my helmet off before my goggles which didn’t work out. Couple of photos with Gene and it’s all over. We take off all the equipment. Get our DVD, photos (actually I believe it was a roll of film) from the jump and a certificate of completion and we are on our way home.

I call my dad and say, “Guess what I did today!?!”

Most of the time, when people find out that I’ve been skydiving they usually always ask if I would do it again. I really don’t think so. I did it once. It was awesome! I’m fine with not ever doing it again. I don’t regret going. I just think I was lucky enough to survive once, no need to do it again. It definitely is something to do at least once if you like that sort of adrenaline rush. The people at Skydive Carolina were awesome back in 2005 and after a quick check of the website, Gene and Terry are still on staff there, if that tells you anything about the type of place it is.

Give skydiving a chance, or maybe it’s not your thing, either way do what you can to make every day an adventure. And thanks to Tim McGraw for the inspiration of this fun adventure.

Here is some current info about Skydive Carolina.

Tandem Skydiving costs $259 per person (there are group rates and weekday rates available)

Photo package – Ultimate package (video, stills and social media clip) – $139

Website – https://www.skydivecarolina.com/