Posted on 11/19/2004 7:20:23 PM PST by Rakkasan1
Brooklyn Park skydiver, known as expert in risky hobby, apparently misjudged area
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LOL
Ouch, Sad for the guys family - hope he had some tricky insurance in place - but LOL at the cleanup comment!
But it was a moron stunt. He had responsibilities to his wife and child and should not have been out taking childish risks for cheap thrills.
Moron stunt? Absolutely.
he "misjudged" ?
ow!
Well, that's important, of course. It makes him a little less dead, his wife a little less widowed, and his son a little less fatherless.
Just as long as he had a big old smile on his selfish face when his hobby finally caught up with him, that's all that matters.
And by the way, I don't believe you are the jumper's brother. The real jumper's brother wouldn't be the least surprised to see comments like this, and wouldn't be here acting like it's the first time he's ever encountered such sentiments.
As a former sport jumper I can say with authority, he screwed up.
This cleanup probably involved a shovel and some Glad bags.
Gee, ya THINK? (c8
I'm sorry your brother was an idiot.
If you're shorter after the jump than before... you screwed up. :)
He shames us and then thanks us?
I'm confused....
BASE..how low can you go?
I dont like being up that HIGH! Gives me the buckwheat willies. Hovering over the abyss down 105 feet, I'm fine with.
BLOOD ON THE RISERS
He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright.
He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight.
He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar.
You ain't gonna jump no more.
Chorus:
Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die.
Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die.
Gory, gory, what a hell of way to die.
He ain't gonna jump no more.
"Is everybody happy?" cried the sergeant looking up.
Our hero feebly answered, "Yes", and then they stood him up.
He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock.
He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop.
The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
The risers swung around his neck, connectors cracked his dome.
Suspension lines were tied in knots around his skinny bones.
The canopy became his shroud, he hurtled to the ground.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
The days he lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind.
He thought about the girl back home, the one he left behind.
He thought about the medicos and wondered what they'd find.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild.
The medics jumped and screamed with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled.
For it had been a week or more since last a 'chute had failed.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
He hit the ground, the sound was "Splat," his blood went spurting high.
His comrades they were heard to say, "A helluva way to die."
He lay there rolling 'round in the welter of his gore.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the 'chute.
Intestines were a-dangling from his paratrooper suit.
He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots.
And he ain't gonna jump no more.
True, I should have reconsidered posting here. But I'm his brother-in-law. He lived in Brooklyn Park. Max's full name ends the same as Erich's: Max John Wagar. His mother Judy was at our house in St. Paul for Thanksgiving. Gretchen and Courtney still live on Jersey Ave. The green urn from the memorial service still sits on the dresser over Gretchen's bed.
Believe me, we had our bouts of inappropriate comments. But moralizing about it was not part of the program. Selfish? Not hardly. Gretchen gave him full permission. She is still angry over the fact that it happened, but Erich knew that would be the case before every jump he made.
The only thing that surprises me is that a group of people who claim to be from a party built on "moral values" have reacted so callously and childishly to a tragic event that hits so close to home for me.
So go ahead, call me a troll. Call me a fool. I know who I am and I knew who Erich was. And when little Max grows up, I can't wait to tell him all about his daddy and how great he truly was.
So yes, Erich screwed up. We know. Gretchen knows. I'm sure HE knows. But think about how your words affect the rest of us.
I'm guessing that there are only two classes of Base jumpers:
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