I jumped out of a plane at 18,000 feet?

I can’t explain the rationale. It’s not something I’ve been thinking about for years and years. It had always been an idea but I was not on a mission to do this.

I booked this vacation a year ago. Three other people were supposed to join me and their plans changed. So when it became a solo vacation, I had to change my expectations. My main focus was to relax, recharge, read, meditate and have more of a New Agey trip.

Then I made a list of other things that I might want to do, if I was in the mood. Skydiving was one of those. I booked the trip on Monday and jumped Tuesday. I had a bizarre sense of calm about it. I was excited by not too nervous. I slept fine.

Got to the place early and started filling out all the paperwork, waivers etc. that say you might get hurt or die and you can’t sue, your family can’t sue and neither can your dog. As I scanned the 12 pages, I could feel the butterflies starting.

It was overcast so we had to wait until clouds cleared. Then it rained. Then we had to wait for more clouds to clear. I showed up for my 9am appointment and we didn’t jump until after 1pm. That was the worst part!

It only took about 10 minutes to get to the 18,000 feet. There were 12 of us crammed into the plan plus the pilot. Each jumper was strapped to their tandem expert plus each jumper had an extra videographer.

I was next to the ‘door’ so I was first out. The air was cold and it was really windy. My tandem guy, Junior, and I shuffled/scooted from our bench to the opening. My heart was racing and I kept thinking to make sure and smile for the video, to look all around and make sure I enjoyed the ride.

It wasn’t so much a jump but a lean forward out the door and put my knees back. The front flip exit I suspected was later confirmed on my video. It was a total rush of air, extreme adrenalin and emotion as we free-falled for a minute and a half. It was literally breathtaking—I could hardly breathe. The wind and air was rushing by so fast it was hard to get a decent inhale. I could feel my face and lips flapping and I just tried to stay calm and get my breath. I made sure to smile at the camera and look all around.

Once Junior pulled the shoot it became much more of a Zen experience, just floating in the air, looking at the ocean, the Space Center and taking it all in. The earth is stunning from up there!

I think we floated down for maybe six or seven minutes. It was very peaceful and smooth. Junior steered very well and the landing was a piece of cake. Once we were detached and I was standing on my own I felt very tingly, dazed and light-headed. I felt a little stunned and it was hard to walk back to the hangar.

I think part of what kept me somewhat calm was the crew. My videographer has jumped over 3,500 times. Junior has jumped over 13,000 times. And one of the other tandem guys has jumped over 19,000 times. With that kind of result data, I felt reasonably sane in my crazy decision to sky dive.

I see you

I caught a few minutes of Titanic the other day and heard Jack say to Rose “I see you.” It was early in the movie in a scene on deck when Rose was looking at Jack’s drawings. She said “You really see people don’t you?” and he replied “I see you.” I loved that from AVATAR and had no idea it was repeated from Titanic.

The concept is really powerful. How often do you really see the people around you? Are you really present in your conversations with friends and family? Do you really hear what they are saying? Can you see the fear or hope in their eyes? Or are you thinking about your response to their argument? Or a funny story you want to tell? Or how you're too busy for this conversation? Do you see an arrogant, condescending business woman or a scared little child with low self-esteem?

How often do you get introduced to someone new and two seconds later you have no idea what there name is?...and you are still talking to them! This is something I’m really working on. I repeat their name three times in my head to try to help.

And from a marketing perspective, how many companies really see their customers? I can’t tell you how much junk mail I get addressed to “Current Resident.” Really? You care so much about selling me your product but you haven’t even learned my name? I love Seth Godin’s analogy about how selling is like dating. You can’t ask someone to marry you the first time you meet them. You have to build the relationship. Are you really asking me to marry you and you don’t even know my name? Really?

ps can you guess whose eyes are above?

Kickball, Cinqo de Mayo, Roller Derby

I had an unusually eclectic mix of social activities on Saturday. My kickball team managed to win both of our games this weekend. Actually these were our first two wins ever. Last year we had a perfect season…all losses. So needless to say we were thrilled!

For lunch I walked from my home to Cherokee Street with several friends. There was a street festival celebrating Cinqo de Mayo. They had authentic Mexican food (photo above), music and dancing. If anyone in St. Louis thinks they like El Maguey, Arcelia’s, or Chimchanga’s, you will love love love the Mexican restaurants on Cherokee. Run don’t walk.

Saturday night was spent watching the M-80’s take on the the Smashinistas in St. Louis’ first all female flat track derby league the Arch Rivals. http://www.archrivalrollergirls.com/ Campy, family fun for only $10 to watch Downtown Dallas and Ana Warpath battle it out to be lead jammer.

So how in the world did I find out about these events? Word of Mouth (WOM): I saw Seth Godin speak on this at a marketing conference a few years ago. He talked about how powerful it can be to drive your business, but how it’s difficult for a brand to generate. It has to be authentic. My Saturday schedule is a perfect example of how WOM captured both some of my discretionary income and time.

A friend invited me to play in the kick ball league using an old fashioned method of a verbal conversation, using complete words and sentences in a live, face-to-face conversation! I found the street festival in my Facebook Newsfeed when one of my FB Friends “liked” it. A friend invited me to the roller derby using the FB messaging function. Technology or not, WOM captured my dollars. Pretty cool.

Funerals are the new Facebook

Well…not exactly. But, wow, what a surprising way to reconnect and make new connections with family and friends.

My Grandma Scherting died recently. She was 90 ½ and lived a long, active life; moved from her own apartment to hospice; five generations (that means great, great grand kids!) so she was loved dearly by many and leaves quite a legacy!

In an odd way, I really enjoyed the visitation at the funeral home. It’s funny how you can go years and months and not see certain family members or old friends. But an obituary appears online, priorities change and you’re seeing people you haven’t seen in ages. It’s an unanticipated gift from your departed loved one... all the connections across the pods of friends and family lines.

• My grandma and her friends were frequent patrons of the Family Musical Theater, the community theater group I did ‘Anything Goes’ with a few summers ago. So her friends recognized my friends who are in all of the shows!

• The daughter of one of my mom’s friends lives next door to my boss.

• My Aunt Lucille lives two doors down from one of my Grandma’s ‘bummin’ buddies

• I know my cousin’s ex-step-daughter through the restaurant “Three Monkeys”

• A lady I used to babysit for grew up in Benton Park (the neighborhood where I currently reside)

• This same lady is taking my old wooden doll bunk beds for her grand kids.

• The priest who said the funeral mass taught me 3rd grade religion class. (When we acted up in class, he sent us to ‘Crooksville,’ a note he mentioned in the homily!)

• My dad sat down with me and one of my closest friends from high-school and she says “I met Mr. Scherting in 1980! Oh my gosh, we’ve known each other for 30 years!”

• We went to Pietro’s after the burial for a family luncheon/reception. My mom’s cousin is the head chef (Aunt Lucille’s son) and his wife waited on us. It turns out my co-worker/work BFF also grew up going to Pietro’s. Small world.

Random reminders of what you have to be grateful for during your time here on earth…real life connections with people that make life special. And Grandma Scherting was at the center of all of this.


In memory of
Mrs. Katherine J. Scherting
Born: August 15, 1919
Died: April 30, 2010