I watched as the 12 of them tumbled through the clear sky, silhouetted by a few wispy, high-flying cirrus clouds outside Louisburg, N.C.

A few interminable seconds after leaving the high-wing, twin-engine turbojet, the scene converted into 10 billowing parachute canopies as the skydivers opened their chutes and gracefully maneuvered to gentle landings at or near the target on the ground.

That was the picture as my youngest son made his first jump to celebrate his 40th birthday.

Most were old hands who jumped individually, while the two novices, my son Doug included, jumped in tandem with an experienced instructor to become initiated in the thrill of a free-fall parachute jump.

My own opinion, after logging more than 3,500 hours of flight time, is that there is no reason to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft which can get you safely back on the ground. However, that was my son's desire, and I would never discourage any of my family from chasing their dreams.

This is the same son who was a firefighter for a number of years with the St. Matthews Fire Department, and I consider him a brave man to willingly put himself in harm's way both as a firefighter and a skydiver, two things that I could never bring myself to do.

This was his day, and we there to support him in his celebration. The anxious and excited onlookers included many of Doug's friends, his fiancé Kim, my wife Bonnie, his daughter Alicia and me.

Alicia seemed to wonder why Doug would want to commit suicide while she was there to see it. But she bravely saw him through his rite of passage in to his fourth decade of life.

The most surprising thing was that Bonnie was dreading the thought of her son jumping. But, amazingly, after he completed the jump, she said, "It looked so peaceful. I might try it on my 70th birthday."

Well, folks, that sounds nice. But this old boy will stay on terra firma and root them on in their demented, daring second childhoods.

T&D Correspondent Larry P. Jordan can be reached by phone at 803-874-3276. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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