Yeee-ouch!

So, M.'s unit is doing all kinds of sporty things this summer...they collectively tried their hand at leauge softball, but despite their best efforts, the championship went to a nearby Air Defense Artillery unit. Spirits undaunted, though, they've rekindled personal athletic interests of all varieties. There's M., who is a huge soccer fan, and there are plenty of rabid golfers among the group. Then there are those individuals who enjoy slightly more exotic sports, like SGT A., who is usually wakeboarding in all kinds of far-flung places, like Turkey and Spain. And, of course, there's always a dare-devil of the truest sort lurking somewhere in the crowd, hence the unit's resident skydiver, SGT L. Now, skydiving as a routine endeavor would make a lot more sense if M. and his buddies were, say, in an airborne vet unit, but they're not. I'm not sure there's an airborne vet unit anywhere, let alone here, but I digress. Anyhoo, SGT L. is out there hurtling through the air from a plane toward the ground at top speed several times each weekend, largely without incident until his outing of two weeks ago. While preparing to land, he was carried away from the drop zone by the wind...and straight into the parking lot! So, he's headed at top speed right into the windshield of a car of another patron of the jump school. He hit smack into the windshield, breaking through, and was then again lifted by the wind over the car, finally coming to a stop after raking across the roof with the buckles of his jump harness. And this being Germany and all, of course, he was lucky enough to have just been raked over...you guessed it! A brand-new Beemer. Luckily, he walked away (albeit painfully!) from the crash, the majority of his wounds on the front of his knees and lower legs from going through the windshield. So this weekend, we were approached by a guy wearing a "skydiving.com" t-shirt (and maybe still with a barely-noticeable limp to his step!) I met SGT L. for the first time, and am happy to report that he is, in fact, all in one piece. He tells us that unless his insurance covers the accident in full, he will be (gulp!) 5000 euro lighter....which is roughtly $6250 US. That's one expensive skydive! But it's almost worth the story that ensued...but stay tuned, because coming soon to a blog near you is my answer to why swimming naked definitely IS worth the story! (And no, it didn't involve yours truly!)