33 | PUP SUN I T E .ORG familyvalues feet. Everything else was a go. I’m 72 now so most of my adventures are probably behind me. I want to describe truly the best one(s) I ever experienced in ‘Living on The Edge’. In 1974, my best friend Jim and I were having a few beers at a local bar in Springfield when a couple friends came in, sat down and infused the entire place with their energy. They were excited like nobody I’d ever seen having their first beer. Everyone listened as the guys related their first day parachuting, from taking their class to hitting the ground. The more they talked and the more Jim and I put down a few pints, the more we came to the realization that this was something made for us! Friends, we shook hands then-andthere in front of all our friends and the bar’s patrons. We were going to jump and there would be no backing down… when we sobered up. The very next day, I picked Jim up in my Chevy van and we proceeded to Xenia to fulfill our promise. Naturally, the thought that this could be dangerous began taking hold. Three thousand feet is a long way up there… birds don’t fly that high… so just what are we thinking! A handshake can never be broken… that is a fact of life! So, on we went. As we got closer to
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