Nicholas Cormier III, 1301 student

Parachute Revision Exercise

Adapted from LaRene Despain's WRITING:

A WORKSHOP APPROACH

Contributed by Sherill Cobb

We hover over the drop zone, anxiously waiting the big moment. A loud rushing sound roars as the doors open. The green light illuminates the dark and cramped quarters as the first jumpers fearlessly leap out. I sit nervously in the middle of the second stock of jumpers. As the plane circles around for a second pass, we jump to our feet. The green light fires again, signaling that the big moment is now only seconds away. I do not know what to expect the first time. I stand frozen in the doorway breathing heavily. I feel a light tap on my back, then I hurl myself into the vast open sky. I am counting, one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand, as my eyes catch the very reassuring sight of the chute billow that is floating above me. Exhilaration washes over my entire body as I drift earthward. The points we learned in jumping school keep racing through my mind as I near the ground. "Just do as you learned and you won't get hurt: feet and knees together, toes pointed slightly downward, knees slightly bent, relax when you hit."