And, then, out of the blue, Bush 41 decides that for his 85th birthday he wants to go skydiving so he assembles the Golden Knights that live in his compound and away they go ...
In recent years, Bush's jumps have been about fun and celebration, but he first parachuted out of a plane when he was a naval aviator shot down over the Pacific Ocean during World War II.
"People kept asking all week leading up to this, 'Are you afraid?'" Meade said. "And my answer, up until about 1PM Friday, was: no, I'm thinking more about the interview with President Bush 41 and keeping focused on that, and then I can think about the jump. I gotta tell you, the whole way up in the plane ride I kept wondering if I would lose my cookies in front of a president, his family on the ground and on national television. I'm happy to say I never needed the 'party bag"...but when they said in the plane, 'It's time to go," I told my producer my that my knees were shaking. That's when I finally got nervous."Meade said that while airborne, she "kept sucking down some oxygen for fear I'd get sick," while the former President was consumed looking for his family's Kennebunkport home.
As for the skydive itself, Meade said "the first two or three seconds in free fall didn't feel so hot" but after her body adjusted it felt more like she was flying.
"I think I grunted or squealed once or twice in the jump and when the parachute opens," she said. "It rips and jerks you upward. After the parachute opened I could speak to my tandem partner, Sgt. First Class Kurt Isenbarger, originally from Ohio. He asked as we were parachuting if I wanted to spin and show off and come in fast. I said, no I definitely didn't want to spin. We were coming in fast enough!"
Meade added that she and the former President set a date to skydive again in five years.
"President Bush invited me to go again when he turns 90." she said. "Deal!"
Best of the Roses,
John French
mystrawhat.com
&
theneweverydaymedia
No comments:
Post a Comment