A close friend, Mark, with whom I went skydiving a lot back in the '80s and '90s died on Thursday of last week after a prolonged illness. I was saddened of his passing, but appreciated that he was finally relieved of his suffering.
I have very fond memories of Mark. He was always the daring and courageous one. "Can't this plane go higher?" ... "Whaddya mean, we need oxygen above 15,000 feet?" ... "Only six jumps today? Let's go for another!" ... "Hey, buddy, did you catch that thermal and go for a ride? Woo-wee!" (as I observed him gliding around in mid-air for an hour.)
My log books show that Mark and I jumped together over 6,000 times during the past 15 years. He was by my side as I entered my competitions and won my national title in 1991. What an amazing man -- fun, spirited, and always happy. His bright smile and attitude endeared him to everyone he met. His lovely wife, who I met in college and sorta introduced them, and their three kids remained a huge part of my life. I live a life of spirit, fun, and adventure pretty much as a result of Mark's influence. I remain forever grateful.
When Mark finally hung up his silks for the last time, his wife called. She told me that he had specifically requested for his four "skydiving buddies" to be pallbearers at his funeral. So yesterday, we suited up in our skydiving gear and I got out my parachute (which took me hours to open, clean, and repack correctly since I haven't gone skydiving in a while), and arrived at his funeral by air. Well, actually, we arrived via parachute! [Photo by the pilot using a cell-phone camera; I'm upper left]. We landed right on a ballfield next to the church where the funeral was held.
After landing, we quickly stashed our 'chutes in a van and met the hearse at the church, and escorted our friend's casket into the church for the service. This was the first time I have served as a pall bearer in skydiving gear and jump boots, but that's how my friend knew me and my friends, and that's how we wanted to appear -- as he remembered us best.
One of my fellow skydiving companions gave a very fitting and mostly humorous eulogy, and closed with the words that Mark always said, "you can't seem to get rid of the butterflies when you skydive, but you can teach them how to fly in formation!"
Rest in peace, my friend...
Life is short: show those you love, even in death, that you love them.
Today, October 1, my home state of Maryland finally begins moving in the right direction by having a law take effect that prohibits talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving. You'd think this is a no-brainer, and the law would have passed long ago.The new law is weak and requires much work. For example, unlike in California, a cop can't stop someone just for yakking on a cell phone. He/she has to see the driver commit another infraction and stop them for that before a citation for a meager $40 is given for the yakking infraction. Further, the penalty is way too low. Texting while driving has been against the law in my home state for over a year, yet I haven't seen it enforced nor make any difference. I see people texting while driving all the time. Scary! Us motorcyclists have enough to worry about ignorant drivers who don't see us anyway than to worry about their distractions causing them not to see us.
What is it that talking on a phone all the time is so critical? I promise you, the world will NOT end if you let a call go to voice mail, or if you have to take a few minutes to pull over to a parking lot to place a call that is important to you at the time.I am remembering my friend who died while out riding his motorcycle and was killed right before my eyes by a cell-phone-yakking yuppie. His children and all of his friends and family still miss him very much. And any Maryland legislators reading this: just because my local champion of this issue didn't win his primary election doesn't mean that I've given up on this matter. I look to YOU to do the right thing. Submit and co-sponsor a bill to make this law have the teeth it deserves. Make yakking-and-driving a PRIMARY offense, and make the penalty much more severe. Life is short: hang up and drive!
