dreaminghope | Waiting is the hardest part... I hope

We were supposed to have our first paragliding class on May 1st, but there was a little delay. The timing was fortuitous, as it allowed me to spend an extra day with Grandma in Vernon, but the reason was unfortunate.

When you are preparing to learn how to paraglide, the last thing you probably want to see is your instructor with a huge cast on one foot.

After doing many extreme sports (skydiving, bungee jumping, scuba diving, etc.) and paragliding for fifteen years without a single injury, my instructor has proven that descending stairs can be very dangerous. He slipped while going down the stairs in his loft, fell poorly, and shattered his heel. He had to have surgery and he was in the hospital for the start of the paragliding season.

Russ, Craig, and I went to our first theory class last night. Our teacher was in a wheelchair, though he obviously doesn't like sitting still and he would frequently use crutches to get around and even hop on one foot for short periods. It was a pretty mixed group of people preparing for first flights: some business people who probably came straight from their downtown offices, a couple of athletic types looking to add another sport to their repertoire, and a group of frat-boy types who made insulting little jokes about each other all evening.

We learned about weather patterns, the physics of flying, and about take-off, emergency, and landing procedures. We learned how not to Tinkerbell (bouncing along the ground with too much lift to run properly but not enough to actually fly). We learned how not to become a Christmas tree ornament (taking off too late on the runway and not getting enough height to clear the trees). We learned how not to crash into a telephone pole (look where you want to go; don't look at the telephone pole). I took a lot of notes. It's been a long time since I last took a night class; my mind was swimming by the end and it was hard to get to sleep.

I keep rehearsing the different procedures over and over in my mind. I think I am a healthy amount of nervous, and now I'm just hoping the weather's good on Saturday and that I remember the important stuff and that I don't fail the first module (especially if those with me both pass - eek!). Up, up, and away!