I’m the spontaneous type.  I make a decision on a whim and go full blast one hundred percent until something happens.  So when I came out of the grocery store last week, looked up in the sky and said, “I need to go sky diving”, it was just another instance of my spontaneity making decisions for me.  So I pulled out the trusty iPhone and began searching for local skydiving facilities in the Wilkes-Barre & Scranton, Pennsylvania.

I called Above The Poconos Skydiving Facility in Hazleton, PA.  The lady told me on the phone there is a two week waiting list but she could probably sneak me in on the Fourth of July.  This all happened within ten minutes of seeing the plane in the sky and making the decision to skydive.  You have got to love the “smart phone”.  I gave them a deposit over the phone and was schedule to jump at 2:30 PM on the Fourth of July.  But the excitement didn’t actually set in.  In fact, I didn’t get excited at all during the week wait nor did I really think about skydiving until getting dressed on the day of the event.  It just didn’t seem like it was happeneing.  Looking back now, I guess I know why.

As Amy and I started driving up to the drop zone I began to think about the skydive and what it would entail.  The entire week Amy was trying to talk me out of going and insisting I update my life insurance policy and will.  She was incredibly nervous for the both of us.  But nerves or excitement never set in on the way up and even while pulling into the parking lot.  ”What the hell is wrong with me”, I asked myself.

Amy began taking videos right away of the event even when I was watching the stupid introductory video and signing papers.  I made some small talk with a couple of older gentlemen and finally my turn had come.  I handed my paper work in to the desk person who asked how much I weighed.  Now, prior to this I had done my homework on skydiving.  I see that there are weight limits that vary from place to place.  As the person gets to 225 and above the facility will sometimes charge more since there is a faster wear on the equipment.  This is fair to me.  I began playing football in Junior High School so from the gate I was made to weight lift and build my body to the proportions of a linebacker: big shoulders and upper body thus creating a 225 frame on a 5’10″ person.

As a result of me building my body during my adolescent years it helped shape the way my development and proportions finalized.  Needless to say, being 5’10″ and 230 pounds was great while playing football but it isn’t a body shape that does someone much good who sits behind a desk and computer for 8 to 12 hours a day.  So when I handed the lady my final payment and paperwork she asked my weight of which I replied, “230″.  ”No you aren’t”, she exclaimed.  ”Get on the scale.”  After jumping on the scale and seeing the 230 come up the employee told me that I couldn’t skydive.

Apparently, this company’s policy is that nobody over 220 (223 with some fudging)  can tandem jump.  The female employee said she is surprised because I don’t look near 220 and could have easily fibbed.  I was shocked and real upset.  Despite not feeling any real excitement I did have a heightened feeling of anticipation.  Despite me trying to talk my way into the plane the employee was persistent.  I didn’t fee like putting up a fight and with my tale between my legs, Amy and I walked back to the car and began driving home.

Just as quick as I decided to skydive is almost just as quick as I was turned down.  Amy told me that I had looked like I was ready to cry.  Now I’ve experienced issues where my height and weight weren’t in proportion to “standards”.  When I entered the military I had the same issue but after conducting a BMI (Body Mass Index) it reiterated the fact that I wasn’t an obese pig slut eating anything in my way.  I’m just a stocky dude.  But enough of the disclaimer regarding my weight.  While driving home I began thinking about what had just transpired.  I did what I often do when somebody tells me I can’t do something.  I started looking for a way around it.

I can’t say it enough.  Thank God for technology and especially smart phones.  I read tons of info on skydiving and was sure that there are people who tandem skydive that are over 220 pounds.  So I began my Google Search on “tandem skydiving weightlifting” as well as “Pennsylvania Skydiving”.  That is where I found my answers.  The decision by this company not to allow people over 220 to tandem is a company policy.  Of course, tandem parachutes can only accept so much weight but that weight is damn near 500 LBS.  So unless my tandem partner was 270 pounds we were well under the limit.  Now I just needed a place in my geographical area who realized that as well.

Skys the Limit skydiving is a privately owned skydiving drop zone located near my undergraduate alma mater of  The East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.  I read on their site that individuals can be up to 285 pounds when tandem skydiving (I was well under this weight).  The only requirement was that if a person was above a certain weight they had to pay extra cash (of which I didn’t meet the criteria either).  I called Skys the Limit.  Not only was I able to skydive there they had a spot open that day!  They asked me where I was coming form and how long it would take me to be there.  I told the girl on the phone 45 minutes and immediately plugged the new address on my iPhone maps.  But could anything else go wrong when I got there?  I’ll follow up with my experience at Skys the Limit later!

Do you think there is a problem with the company not allowing someone to jump who is over 220 pounds when tons of other companies allow it?  Does this cause this company to lose business?  Am I just a fatso who needs to lose weight?  I’d love to hear your take.