You crack me up Slartibarfast :D! I've never had the urge to jump out of a perfectly good working plane and plummet to the Earth at incredible speeds only to rely on a string jolting me to a sudden stop so I can float and enjoy the view for a moment or two. All the while crossing my fingers in hopes I can land where X marked the spot without crushing my spine in the meantime. But, people that have done it, Loved it! Please take your towel to throw down on your X. It will help cushion your landing. Paragliding is yet another mysterious sport/hobby. When I lived in Boulder, I worked at Boulder Valley Ranch. I used to give tours on horseback. On the two-hour ride I took people on Longhorn Road, under the HWY and over to the other side. At the top of the ridge, people were known to paraglide. Not the people on on my tour, mind you, they were there to ride the horses, but others who were fans of the sport. :) It takes a whole lot of upper and body strength and leg power to do such a sport. It was beautiful to watch them. When you do this, please take your towel. You'll need to wipe the sweat off your brow once you soaring above the Flatirons and the looking at the Rockies. A smaller towel might be better on this adventure. You don't want to have it catch air and misguide you. Now, about the Mile High Club. I have a funny story for you. This is a club I DO belong to. Contrary to popular belief, there was a time when you could smoke on airplanes and stand in line for the bathrooms in the aisles. This was so long ago, I had yet to meet Don and still in my teens. We were on a flight from Nashville TN to Portland OR with a stop. I'm pretty sure it was Denver, but that is irrelevant. As the airplane rose up in the air, so did Jason. Feeling a little frisky, when we reached altitude, I waited until a person got up to go and jumped right behind them. When they were done, I went in the bathroom and Jason jumped up to follow suit. The airline attendants were busy with their carts, serving drinks. As long as there wasn't a line longer than one person deep, they continued on their jobs. 2 people of regular size or smaller could fit in those bathrooms. One person has to sit on the sink which just happened to be the right height for me. With the excitement of getting away with this and the pressure of someone now knocking on the door wondering what was taking Jason so long, it was a 3-minute quickie, but an exciting success for both of us. This is also a great time to have your towel (for obvious reasons!) That was the flight we were inducted into the Mile High Club. It would be extremely hard now-a-days on a commercial flight. I can't imagine doing it if you owned your own plane. Maybe if you put it on auto-pilot and had a Leer Jet, you would be smooth sailing. Now that would be doing it in style and class!! I wish you the best on your adventures Slartibarfast. If anyone could do them with success, it will be you!! Winks and Smiles always!
This post was edited by Merlin at June 24, 2017 4:59 PM MDT
If I owned my own plane, I wouldn't be the pilot if I was joining the "club", I'd simply lock the door between the cockpit and the rest of the aircraft. As for the others, would a towel make a good 'chute?
Sorry for the delay Spunky Senior. I had to go to work this morning. I like your idea very much. This sounds like fun and I hear it is really good exercise. Some may think of it as simply a ploy and money maker for the sexual arena. I have seen people put on fabulous performances that are beautiful and outstandingly athletic. It would be wonderful to do such a talent. Thank you for sharing Spunky Senior. I would love to have such a talent too. NO chance for me but I wish the best for you! :) :)
Maybe not but it is lovely you can appreciate the beauty of it. If we are lucky enough to grow old, we do pay a small price. Our bodies can only hold out for so long even if our minds are still young. :) I know your mind is very talented. I give you a mental imagination and thought a perfect 10 ! Big smiles! Thanks for answering. :)
Thank you for the very fine compliments. You're right, Merlin. With age we are not able to do some of the things we used to quite easily. Walking up and down stairs when you have arthritis in both knees, is not easy, but we do it anyway - just not as often when there is an escalator or elevator available. :) I really don't care how much my physical being deteriorates so long as my mental capacity remains relatively vibrant. That is what would ruin my quality of life. That is a much bigger fear for me.
Sorry for the delay Karen. I saw you answered this morning and right as you did, I had 20 minutes to get to work. I wanted to take the time to write to you (like now) and not give you a 1/2 hearted response. Thank you for your patience :) I bet you are more talented than you give yourself credit for. Your picture and your writing are both wonderful. You, yourself, are a work of art. :) :) I love to create things too. I'm not as talented as my friends and family would have me believe. I think they feel they are obligated to say, "Oh Merlin! That looks wonderful." I know it isn't. Hahaha But, the beauty of it all is you and I both like it. It is wonderful. If I could, I would grant all the tools and gifts to have this come true. But, like you, I like playing around with it anyway. Here's to all the funky yet fun pictures and crafts we do! You are such a wonderful being. Thank you!
Thank you for the kind words. :) I do a little bit of crafting now, I paint rocks for 615 ROCKS! You paint them and then 'hide' them in plain sight so they can be found. You post a pic of them on Facebook and the the general area where you hid them, or take a pic of them in their 'hiding' spot. When someone finds them, they post a pic of them as well. You can either keep them, leave them, or re-hide them. 615 is our area code and quite a few cities have started doing this. The kids love it. Here's a pic of the two I hid last week. You can see I]m not very artistic, but that doesn't matter. :)
Astronomy. I would buy a huge telescope and sit on a high balcony in a high rise somewhere away from the city lights. Lots of Pallm trees, ocean view please. ;)
Man carbonproduct, that would be cool. If I could, I would give you Griffith Park. I love your idea. That is beautiful and wonderful. Thank you for sharing. :) :)
Slartibartfast 