chuck jumps

Skydiving, Woodcutting, & Garden Harvest: Summer's Done

I've wanted to go Skydiving for a few years now. Wanted to go bungie-jumping as well. Finally went skydiving, with our son and one of our daughters, and while I'm really glad I did it, especially with them, my good wife and their mom there to support us, I've decided I no longer want to go bungie-jumping. That free-fall, going out of the plane backwards, was really kind of frightening. Actually, the New Zealand Maori guy that I tandem jumped with, (all his Maori tattoos, protruding tongue that showed that intense Maori warrior face), was as frightening as the actual jump at 12,000 feet. The 120 - 140 mph speed down to the earth was kind of a rush in some sick way, and when, at last, the parachute opened, it jerked like crazy, but I actually then enjoyed the view: Denver off to the south, Boulder to the west. Both of the kids were allowed to land on their feet, but my tandem-guy had me/us land on our rear-ends, and I gotta tell you, alfalfa fields are bumpy on the ol' bum. Ouch! But I'm glad I did it. It's been a few weeks now and I'm beginning to think I may do it again sometime. The best part was being with part of my family. I missed those that weren't there, that was the worst part. I paid extra to have a professional skydiving video record me. I'll try to figure out how to include that in this posting. If you want to see and hear the look of unadulterated terror, check out the video.

For the first time in years, I didn't have my son home to help me get winter firewood cut and stacked. He's away at college. I missed him. I know he never really enjoyed that, it's hard, boring work that I don't enjoy either. But what I did enjoy was having him next to me, working together. I'm thankful for the years we had together to do this. Some men never get a son to work with. I'm lucky.
I still have some Wisconsin Pine (from a building project that I had permission to use. This will be the 3rd winter it's helped warm us. I was laughed at by other teachers who saw me daily after school loading wood with nails, into my truck. But this wood burns hot and is remarkably clean!)to cut, but otherwise, I'm mostly done. And not any too soon. It's not yet the middle of September and we've already had a few nights of freezing. At 7,650 feet above sea level, it's cold here.

I wasn't home much this summer, spent most of it in New England (my previous posts show/tell about my Sailing in the Atlantic and research fellowship at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. I saw Dr. Gordon Wood, live, 3 hour lecture, again last week on CSPAN II. No one but me, and perhaps the other 29 that spent time with him this summer, enjoyed this as much as me). So I didn't have my typical garden. Rather I planted in pots and window boxes and used the greenhouse. This saved a lot of water and seemed to give us just enough fresh produce. Unheard of here, my Pear trees are still growing, 2 out of 5 have survived the past 2 or 3 winters. They've not born fruit yet, maybe never will, but Hope keeps me thinking that they might. A chock cherry tree, apricot tree, and our apple trees grew, but little fruit, but Perhaps next year. And my raspberry and strawberry patches gave us some fresh berries.

We're empty-nesters now. We enjoy going to Pueblo, walking along the River Walk there, it's one of my favorite places to be. But we miss our kids and grandchild. But we Skype, text, email, and phone visit, and so that's something nice, technologically, that our parents and grandparents never had in their life times. I would still rather be nearer to them all, especially that granddaughter of ours, she's just the cutest, smartest, and busiest kid I know. If I ever DO bungie-jump, it will because she wants me to go with her. For her, I would do anything.
Be well, do good...