When we first arrived in Lodi on Saturday afternoon, the
parking lot of the Lodi Parachute Center Airport had just begun to empty out.
The weekend rush of adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers headed back to their,
typically, less-mind-blowing routines. The only ones remaining when we arrived
were those that had never left. The ones that took one tandem and that was the
end of it. They quit their desk jobs and were reborn skydivers.
We rolled
in and jumped out of the car into the ninety-degree heat. Jeff had come earlier
in the day and had watched the three-hundred plus thrill seekers file out of
the airport. He said it was a zoo. We wandered around a bit, looking for him
when a stocky guy with shades, a smile, and a beer approached us.
“Can I help
you guys?”
We said
that we were just looking for a friend who was going to meet us here.
“Are you
guys skydivers?” he asked, as if this were a yes or no question.
Uh…Well,
we’d never done it before, so “Not yet,” we said and his smile brightened.
“Oh, cool.
Well, I’m Wilmar. Let me show you guys around.”
Wilmar was
just the first of many friendly faces at the Lodi Parachute Center. He
introduced us to a few of the regulars and the employees at the Parachute
Center and gave us a brief tour. The intimidation I initially felt about being
in a new place and around such an extreme sport was lessened by how welcoming
and kind everyone was toward us.
Now, all we needed to do was jump.
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