You know it’s possible to skydive
without a parachute?
(Yeah, it is).
Once
Now, I don’t know if the young man in
the following story had attempted the sport once or multiple times, but be that
as it may, ‘Jack’ was a videographer, and a good one.
One day he received an offer to film a
couple of local skydivers, and summarily met them at the airport. Shortly
thereafter, they boarded a small Cessa-style aircraft.
Having reached the desirable height
for the jump, the cameraman exited the side door of the airplane; followed by
the two skydivers.
Everything was proceeding nominally,
and Jack managed to get some excellent film footage of the pair. Ultimately,
one of the jumpers checked his wrist altimeter and signaled the other two men
that it was time to deploy their parachutes.
One chute. Two chutes. And Jack
reached to pull his ripcord. Only to discover it wasn’t where it was supposed
to be. And then it dawned on the poor man.
While he remembered his camera, he had
forgotten to strap on his parachute! Whereas, he had remembered the task at
hand, he had forgotten what came next.
I will spare you the gory details.
Needless to say, this was Jack’s last photo gig.
Pt. 2
Maybe it’s just my personality, mindset,
psyche, attitude (or fill in the blank), but I tend to over prepare. I despise disorder
and lack of preparation. While I’m fine with diverting to a Plan B or Plan C,
if I find it works better, my Plan A is planned to the enth degree. Whether it
involves my counseling practice, intern training, personal goal setting, etc.,
I never want to be “caught unawares” or “go off half-cocked.”
I was privileged to co-found and
command a local outpost of Royal Rangers (a church related boys group) in Florida;
a full fifty years ago. A few years later, I co-founded and led another Royal
Ranger outpost in Virginia.
In order to become a member of the
outpost, our boys were required to learn the Ranger Motto:
“Ready: Ready for anything. Ready to
work, play, serve, obey, worship, live, etc.”
Rev. Johnny Barnes, the founder of this
internationally-recognized organization, apparently felt rather keen on the
notion of preparation, since it is my understanding that he wrote the motto;
(and he might just as well have focused on the topic of education, cleanliness,
or personal appearance).
Recently, I ran into one of the
current commanders of that central Florida Royal Ranger outpost, and was
pleased to realize that he is an older version of that little lad who attended my former group.
A few weeks later, I contacted the
current senior commander of the Virginia Royal Ranger outpost, and introduced
myself as one of the original founders. He brought me up to date on many things
which had fallen together during his tenure there.
It goes without saying that I am
thrilled that both of these outposts still exist, that literally hundreds of
boys have been impacted by their existence, and that a new generation of young
men are, “as we speak” being instilled with a love for the outdoors, mentored
in those traits and skills which enhance Christian character, and encouraged to
become what I refer to as, “People of Excellence.”
Ready. Ready for anything.
This not only applies to packing
parachutes, but a myriad of other things with which life confronts us.
by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 83. Copyright pending
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