Warm Winter Days and Coughing up Lungs
All week, I looked forward to the weekend weather forecast, as it was to be in the mid-high 60s and sunny, and there was lots of fun stuff going on at the various dropzones. Skydive Sacramento was moving over to its permanent landing area, and our friend Phil was doing his 1000th jump, so we decided that was the place to go. We even packed up everything in preparation of staying overnight.
Unfortunately, all week I also had a nagging, creeping feeling of getting sick. I was coughing a bit and somewhat sneezy, though my sinuses were clear and I felt (mostly) energetic. I felt good enough yesterday morning to go out and jump. We made it up for load 1 and Sean and I did a fun little two-way jump and busted out a bunch of points. Then it was time for Phil’s 1000th, which was a planeload - 22 jumpers plus two video. It wasn’t quite a total disaster, but the formation didn’t build. It was lots of fun, though.
After that jump I was really starting to tire and feel worse, so I decided to stand down despite the beautiful weather. I went into town (Lincoln, CA) to pick up a sandwich for me and Sean. While I was waiting in line, the folks behind me noticed my shirt (purchased at ZHills). The gentleman asked if I was a skydiver. I said “Yes, I am … how’d you guess?” (with a smile on my face). His wife made a crack about how he’s a mind reader. I told them about the new dropzone at the airport. The man very humbly mentioned “I did some skydives myself.” Turns out he was a member of the 101st Airborne and had earned his Master Parachutist badge, back in the Vietnam Era (he’s now retired). Very cool to talk to him and I encouraged both of them to come out to the DZ to watch or even do a tandem.
Rest of the day was fun, watching folks land, hanging out with friends, taking photos, and enjoying the burgers and dogs the DZO provided for us. Unfortunately, by evening it was clear that I wasn’t going to be up for jumping anymore over the weekend and I asked Sean if it was okay if we made the long drive back home. I was in bed by 9:30 and slept hard … and felt worse today. It’ll be good for me to just rest and relax, and Sean was able to head back out to Lodi for another day of jumping without dragging my cranky self along.