Lightness of Being
“So why wouldn’t you want to jump out of a plane especially when the door is open,” says Phil White a jump veteran and instructor at Skydive Tecumseh. For fifty years, Skydive Tecumseh has served as a mecca for those seeking a feeling of exhilaration and excitement. According to staff member Corinne Purucker, it is the largest jump location between Chicago and New Jersey and accommodates both experienced, solo jumpers as well as beginners who come to take tandem jumps (jumps taken while strapped to an instructor) featuring state of the art equipment and planes.
Jumpers
Seated around the shaded picnic tables next to the grassy flight strip are four college students from Michigan State waiting for their flight. They decided to do this to add some adventure to their lives after completing this year’s course work. “We’re looking for a new experience,” says Paige Bolen as both Ava Peera and Danielle Deroche nod. “Something not everyone has done or will do,” adds Lizzy Gregory. Also planning to jump are Kevin and Kristie McCort, a father/daughter duo who are finally fulfilling the dream of jumping together. (Due to high winds the jump was postponed. Look for Part 2 in the August 14 Field Guide on how the jumps turned out.)
It’s the instructors that have given me the tiniest bit of pause that I may be missing out on something incredible (I have no plans on jumping folks –I do a lot for Field Guide/TCP but this ain’t gonna happen). They are calm, friendly people with absolute fun and delight in their eyes and smiles. There is an expansiveness about them that comes from having left the ground, soaring beyond their own fears and reservations, and living for the jump. Manager Rob Harris sums skydiving up best, “it is a huge leap of faith, an absolute rush of freedom to fly, to feel the air currents and be part of them.”
Skydive Tecumseh is located at 9305 Tecumseh Clinton Hwy, Tecumseh MI call 517-423-7720 and/or visit skydivetecumseh.com for rates, booking and more info.
Best of Show
The Perseid Meteor Shower is considered the brightest and best for the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Fifty to one hundred glowing and fast-moving shooting stars per hour will travel across the sky after midnight between August 11, 12 and 13. With the meteors very visible long streaming trains (tails of light) streaking across and lingering in the night sky, this shower really is a magical and wondrous sight to behold as you become a part of the light show happening above.
