I’m in a little-school-sized vehicle on my way to skydive for the first time in my life. I’m coughing up a storm. I cough when I’m nervous. I’m sure I’m pale. I just filled in a registration form that asked if I wanted insurance for $30AUD more. That one question makes you rethink everything. It talks about what it covers: death, loss of limbs… I stopped reading.
accusations of murder, multiple cop cars, a fire truck, an ambulance and a Sam’s Club or it might’ve been a Walmart
I’ve always wanted to skydive and I almost did in California almost 20 years ago. I was on my way to the site with two other guys: a South African and a Japanese. However, we never made it to the site because of accusations of murder, multiple cop cars, a fire truck, an ambulance and a Sam’s Club or it might’ve been a Walmart. True story, but one too long to tell at this moment. But if you buy me a bourbon…:) At any rate, since that incident, I had mentioned to my Dr of my skydiving plans and he had warned me not to do it. I have a bad back and said that the jolt caused by the parachute opening would be too strong for my back to bear, so I have never tried since then… until now.
My dream would would stay on the first floor of that boat
Cairns, Australia was supposed to be a bucket list item for me. It was supposed to be where I scuba dived on the Great Barrier Reef. I received my Open Water Certification about four years ago in The Maldives, so I was very excited to top that experience here. I currently have a cough and I have ‘light’ asthma. Either condition is good enough to prevent you from scuba diving. I lied on the registration form, wanting it so bad. That’s up until I overheard a conversation of a guy that actually checked “yes” on the asthma question. The instructor told him a bunch of reasons of why he couldn’t dive, including: “diving my worsen your asthma permanently” and “if you’ve used an inhaler at any point in the last ten years, you can’t dive”. I’ve used one off and on for about 3 years and I even used it the night before. But for a moment I thought “I can do it. That won’t be me.” Sigh. I got up and walked upstairs to where the snorkelers were. I tucked away my diving registration questionnaire and with it, an unchecked bucket list item. My dream would would stay on the first floor of that boat. But perhaps, I grew up a little in that moment. Maturity sucks.
When you scuba dive, you’re not ‘supposed’ to fly within 24 hours of the dive. Your lungs need time to adjust to changes in pressure. You could cause permanent damage to your lungs. But since I didn’t scuba dive…
I’ve always wanted to touch a cloud
I spoke to many folks that have gone skydiving and unanimously, they all say there is no strong jolt on your back. You wear a harness all over your body and the ‘jolt’ is distributed throughout and it’s only predominant in your thighs. So, I’ve decided to skydive! Skydiving while witnessing the barrier reef below, should be spectacular. A bucket list item indeed for me. Life, of course, has an unpredictable sense of humor as those spectacular views are currently being blocked by nasty, grey clouds. But the further we drive out to the site, in this little bus away from the city, it’s getting a bit clearer. But if it doesn’t, I’ve always wanted to ‘touch’ a cloud:)
BobbyGTimes 