Basejumper.com - archive

...while driving to or from a BASE jump?

There's a story?

Landed right next to one tonight. Scared the shit out of him. it was great HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Yep, needed a photographer...

driving to. Gutted the bastard and hung him from overpass as diversion.

Yes, but not very good and only partly related to
the hitch-hiker, but what the hell, I got 5 minutes
to pound it out...

Yesterday on my pay stub I learned I have 90 hours
of sick time on the books... with a job that I will be
leaving at the end of this semester.

So instead of sitting in my office for hours waiting
on students to show up and ask questions I went to
huck the college's local AT&T freestander and try
out my newest static line set up, version 3.0

Well I pull up and there is 3 people there, a short
fat lady in business attire, a tall fat man in same,
and a normal guy in worker clothes.

I chit-chat with the guy about how they recently
removed the horns, added cell antennas, and
asked about getting a job with them. I know
reading this some will think I was burning my own
antenna. 2 things: 1) it was actually smooth and
2) after August 10th I will not be jumping it.

So after leaving but still wearing jumping clothes,
versus slacks and a button shirt for teaching, I did
not want to return to my office, I felt like jumping
and trying out that new static line setup.

Cruised around looking for another antenna and
that was when I drove by a guy walking. It was
on a country road pretty far out. I pulled up and
asked if he needed a ride "to town".

Driving a pick up truck and needing good karma I
occasionally pick up hitch-hikers and usually put
them in the back. However, when we spoke he
seemed normal, clean, recent hair cut, decent
teeth, etc. He asked if I was in the military
because he saw the military knee pads around
my ankles (thanks Cotton).

Hence I let him hop in the cab and he tells me
his story, ex-Marine, got hurt by an IED, now
he is doing construction and a semester away
from his bachelor's degree at Florida State.
Today he got pissed on the job site and his
boss told him he could go and he did.

FYI - distance between where I picked him up and
where I dropped him off was a good 6 or 7 miles.

On the way back we stopped at a cell freestander
and he learns what I am up to. Look on his face
was classic. This tower is new and definitely on
my list to jump but since I had not checked it out
online, or have my Suunto, or my laser I was not
keen to just do it. Next week for sure though.

So we leave that tower, stop and gets a couple
of road cokes, I drop him off, go teach my night
class, then went back to my AT&T freestander at
dusk and did a sweet 'true' solo.

The new static line worked great, I actually could
feel the difference between force of opening when
using a loop of break cord versus a line of same.

Couple guys taught me, in a different thread, how
the former requires 160 pounds to break while the
latter requires 80 pounds and I'm now a believer!

Also, the first time I jumped this antenna it was
from the cat walk at 190' but based on the lack
of wind and removal of the horns the new exit
spot was 200'.

First time I had to do a scary accuracy landing in
deep brakes between barb wire, electrical wires,
a tree, and a building.

This time I was able to fly to the big field instead.
I attribute this to a few things: a) extra 10 feet,
b) the better static line setup, and most of all
c) I am learning how to fly my Troll better.

ass, grass or gas.. nobody rides for free

I tend to go for the what goes around comes around logic... Don't pick up hitch-hikers though; In France I did, but not in South Africa.

HAHAHA

Only in Kentucky!

If you count dirty hookers as hitch hikers then yeah

"How long could we maintain, I wondered. How long before one of us starts raving and jabbering at this boy? What will he think then? This same lonely desert was the last known home of the Manson family.

Would he make that grim connection when my attorney starts screaming about bats and huge manta rays coming down on the car?

If so - well, we'll just have to cut his head off and bury him somewhere. Because it goes without saying that we can't turn him loose. He'd report us at once to some kind of outback Nazi law enforcement agency, and they'll run us down like dogs...

Jesus! Did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?"

"CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"