I had seen it done, I had heard about it, I had even dreamt about it. Never before had I actually tried it.  But here I was, over 14,000 feet above the safety of the earth below.  Sitting in front of the man that was to assist me with my expedient decent back to that wonderful feel of solid ground, I turned and managed a nervous smile.  As the plane reached altitude it leveled off and drew back on the acceleration of the engine.  Now in a near glide the man behind me started hooking my suit into his with metal contraptions and buckles that would make Marilyn Manson proud.  As soon as I was hooked up, the door was opened; one last nod sent us sailing out into the sky.

            Just an hour before I had been getting my jumpsuit on and preparing for the steps I was to take in the air.  I didn’t have much to do up there, but I felt that it was important nonetheless.  There was the tuck.  We wanted to get two full somersaults in and to do so required my companion and I to tuck into a ball upon exit.  Next was to get stable.  We practiced by opening up into a flat body position with our legs bent at the knee.  Lastly, was the landing.  I was assured by my sky buddy that all I had to do was lift my legs up high when instructed to do so and slide in on my butt.  Now it was all anticipation. 

            It was a stifling hot day in late May and the jumpsuit was not very well vented.  My body sweat in the combination of heat and nerves.  Once we finally boarded the plane I was certain that this was the hottest I had ever been in an airplane.  We had crammed ten jumpers and a pilot into an area that wouldn’t make a proper bathroom.  I decided that this was the most effective way to get someone new to jump out of an airplane; they got to choose between the jump or sweating to death in the confines of that hot metal box.  As we ascended though, the temperature became cooler. Much cooler. In fact, it started to get downright chilly. What was once the tiniest bit of relief was quickly turning into a new nightmare.  With my body already slick with sweat I couldn’t bear the thought of the biting cold wind.  Nevertheless, I was determined to go through with this.  I then noticed the altimeter on another jumper’s wrist. We were nearing 14,000 feet.