Jumping out of a plane is something I will probably never do. At least, not unless I’m forced. I’m sure it is thrilling and all. I know that people do this for the adrenaline rush, or the distinction that goes along with saying, “I’ve jumped from a plane.”
But I am milk toast. I am tapioca pudding. I am happy and content here with slow life on the ground.
I would never climb Mount Everest. Or run a marathon. Or swim with sharks. And, I’m not criticizing those who do. I know, for some people, there is a certain allure to these activities. But I fail to see it.
I suppose I’m a “need” driven purpose. I use a plane to get from Point A to Point B. I know running is a healthy activity for most people, but if I have to go 26.2 miles, I’ll take my car. And the sharks? They don’t need me to watch them swim. They do fine all on their own.
I bring this up because today marks the date when the first person parachuted from a plane using a ripcord. This happened on April 28, 1919. His name was Les Irvin. And believe me, this fellow had a thing for jumping out of planes. He made his whole life about this practice.
His life here on Earth began September 10, 1895, and lasted until October 9, 1966. During that time, he did many different things, all in a daring way, I might add. He was a stunt-man for the fledgling Californian film industry. He would fly in hot air balloons and perform all sorts of tricks, using trapeze acrobatics and parachute descents.
It was serious business. For the 1914 film Sky High, Irvin made his first jump out of an airplane. The plane was flying at 1,000 feet. He managed all sorts of other stunts.
But, in 1918, he started focusing more on design and implementation. He developed his own life-saving static line parachute and used it for jumps several times before promoting it to the US Army. Irvin joined the Army Air Service’s parachute research team at McCook Field near Dayton, Ohio. That is where he made the first premeditated freefall jump with the modern parachute and the rip cord on April 28, 1919, the event of which I speak.
Less than two months after Irvin’s first freefall jump, he formed the Irving Air Chute Company in Buffalo, New York. It would be the world’s first parachute designer and manufacturer. Of course, his name was Irvin. But a secretary somewhere inadvertently changed the spelling to ‘Irving’ by mistake. The company never bothered to correct the mistake until 1970.
I’m not sure how he died at age 71. But my guess is he wasn’t jumping from a plane at the time. But, when you look at his life, I would say that in some ways, he was a manufacturer of faith. People who jump from airplanes rely on faith. Faith in a functional parachute. It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes that faith fails them. When things go wrong.
Either way, I like the view much better from the ground. Both feet firmly planted. That way, things are always looking up.
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“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
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“None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have faith.”
― Paulo Coelho, Brida
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“Some things have to be believed to be seen.”
― Madeleine L’Engle
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The big jump or the big not.
