Retirement Chronicles: Bucket List Finished

As I stated last Friday, I was on the final item of my 25-item bucket list. The last one was skydiving. This was the one that I feared most. Hence, it was the last one. I’m not going into a lot of detail on everything. It was the thrill of a lifetime, to be sure. There are things in this world that are indescribable. Skydiving is one of them. You have to experience it to understand what I’m saying.

They Were Anxious To Get Me On The Plane

My jump was scheduled for 11 a.m. We got to the club at 9:15 a.m. The plane was waiting for me. I was asked if I was ready to go. That surprised me. I decided to go to the bathroom first. I guess they weren’t going to give me a chance to back out of this. I admit I was thinking about it. I had wanted to bring a camera to record everything. That was not allowed and strictly forbidden in a tandem jump.

We got on the plane, and the skydiving instructor strapped me into him. It was a special kind of harness that ensured I could not get out of his grasp. We took off, and the pilot said there was a little turbulence at 5000 feet, but we were going to 10000 feet, and it should be just fine there. It wasn’t fine there, as it turns out.

I Was Very Nervous

I could see concern appear on the face of the instructor as he pulled on my straps to make sure we were tight together. He was obviously worried about the turbulence. But he said nothing to me about it. I think this harness brought me as close to a man as I’ve gotten in my entire life. He told me to cross my arms, grab each strap, and open my eyes for the ride down (I had goggles).

The green light came on, and the next thing I knew, I was jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. I was flying. That’s the only way to describe it. It was unbelievable. I don’t know how long we were free-falling—maybe 30 seconds—when I felt a sudden and violent jerk. I don’t remember the instructor warning me about that. It was the parachute. It was a beautiful sight. I think I started breathing again.

The sight coming down was spectacular. The sky was beautiful. I recall him warning me to let his feet touch down first. We had been parachuting down for about 4 or 5 minutes when the ground came rushing to greet us. I thought it was coming too fast. But the landing was like jumping off the top step of a 3-step ladder. Just a sudden, mild feeling.

Skydiving Is Exhilarating

It was exhilarating, I admit. I had conquered the bear and my fear of heights. Oh, I’m still scared of heights. But at least I can jump out of a plane if I need to. I don’t think I adequately described the sensation of skydiving. But I did my best.

So, the question on everyone’s mind reading this account of my ending my bucket list is: would I skydive again? No, probably not. I left out a lot of how close I came to not doing this on the way to the skydiving club. I left out how sick I was on the plane. It was something I am glad I did and that I found the courage to do so. Skydiving is something I would give a thumbs up to if you want to add an item to your bucket list. It was a great way to end a 25-item bucket list. But it’s something I would never turn into a hobby.

Bucket List 1.0 is over. Now, I’m working on Bucket List 2.0.