We heard Joe yell, “Ready, Set……” and they leaned over, head first and dropped out of the plane.

Oh Sweet Jesus and dear God Almighty! I suddenly went totally weak. I could not see her out my window. I had to see her. I had to make sure she was alright. I started to get up and as I did, Burt clamped himself to me, saying, “Easy does it…..” And then we too moved toward the door and sat down and I looked beneath us for my Bette and I saw them to our left, below with their arms out, feet up, dropping at that 120 miles per hour they had talked about.

“Don’t look down,” I heard Burt say. “Look straight at the horizon,” which I obediently did and saw the strangely blue atmosphere just above the strata of brown smog hanging over the area.

Then I heard Burt saying, “Ready, Set……” and suddenly we were falling. My heart was in my throat. My lips felt parched, my mouth went dry as we plummeted head first at terminal velocity. It was hard to breathe. The straps of my harness felt like they were going to cut me in half. The noise was horrific, like the sound of a motorcycle over a loud speaker.

Head back, hips forward, a signal from Burt to put my arms out, feet up. Seconds went by. And then…..and then, suddenly, by God! I could not believe it! I liked it! The thrill of it all electrified every fiber of my being! Every nerve in my body was at attention! It was amazing! Incredible! Phenomenal! Suddenly it was fucking fantastic!

No, it is not like the stomach churning feeling of a roller coaster ride at the fair grounds. It felt more like I was falling on a cushion of air, like a hovercraft with a feeling of buoyancy similar to being in water, literally floating on air!

The videographer was suddenly in my face, free falling with us. That was when I was supposed to put my thumbs up, so I did and I meant it, managing an actual smile, although it felt like my skin was rippling off as I continued to hear that roar of the wind.