When I first entered the trades, F. W. Behler installed lots of galvanized and copper spouting. I was not keen on working several stories above terra firma, which hampered my speed in getting-er-done. What to do to overcome my fear of heights? Go skydiving of course!
That brilliant idea came to my friend and me one night in a bar — not that alcohol had anything to do with our bravado. Off we ventured and what an incredible experience it was. My buddy, on the other hand, had one serious problem after another. On our first jump, he came down through electric power lines, and his nylon parachute shorted out the power for a large area! He was unhurt, but our team decided it best we get outta Dodge before any authorities arrived. After the fiascos he endured with each jump, he quit. I remained, and on the last scheduled jump in my purchased package, I headed to the airfield on my Harley Davidson Superglide (factory version of a chopper) only to find everyone in a somber mood. There had been an accident the previous day, and it turned out to be the guy who was packing my parachute. A double malfunction in both the main and emergency parachutes resulted in his death. That was the day I decided no more skydiving for me.