Me: “What does it feel like?”

Him: “In about two minutes you’ll find out. In the meantime, it is like trying to explain sex to a virgin.”

Sixty Seconds

A feeling like no other.

Two minutes later, I’m physically closer to him than I’ve been to most men in my life. We’re sliding forward in unison on a bench, until we get to the end. We both get up from the bench in a crouched position and waddle over to the edge. I lean my head back on his shoulder and hear:

Ready, set, go!

Five seconds in, he takes my left arm and slightly pushes it down. We spin to the left.

10 seconds in, he takes my right arm and slightly pushes it down. We spin to the right.

15–30 seconds in, I’m in control. I have the ability to spin us to the right or left.

40 seconds in, we both bring our arms to our sides and point our toes. Speed rush. He’s screaming, I’m screaming.

50 seconds in, we stabilize.

60 seconds in, he gives me the signal and I pull.

During the next five minutes, we loop around from left-to-right before making a landing.

My first time skydiving was a success!

Going into this experience, I looking forward to the descent once the parachute was deployed. Although I was skydiving in the flatlands of Florida, I still couldn’t wait to experience the scenic view from five thousand feet in the air.

Once things played out, I thoroughly enjoyed the initial sixty seconds, between leaving the plane and pulling the rip cord, for one reason: tandem harnesses are very uncomfortable.

Although my instructor did all he could to make things more comfortable once our parachute was deployed, alas it was “the nature of the tandem harness” to be uncomfortable.

Usually when I write, I try to explain my experiences in a way the reader can vicariously live through the stories. This one folks, you’re going to have to experience on your own. From your excitement level raising like the arm on your altimeter as you ascend to 13-thousand feet, to the view as you look out of the side of the plane before you jump, to the euphoric leap, to the liberation that comes from having control of your movements during free fall.

If you’ve never been skydiving, I would highly recommend it. It’s never to late. (Seriously, there was a man that had just celebrated his 90th birthday that did a tandem jump from the same plane I was on.)