Parachutist Survives15000 Foot Drop, Caught on Video

Watching a parachute failure serves to remind me why I prefer both feet planted firmly on the ground. There are risk takers and thrill seekers, and neither term describes me. Their life might possibly be more exciting than mine, but I'm quite okay with  being 'boring'.

The fact is, I have never been a thrill seeker. The closest I ever came was at age 14 when I took my first roller coaster ride at Elitch Gardens in Denver. Conquering the fear that kept me off the roller coaster since I was tall enough to ride, I took that first frightening ride.  I was sure I was going to die.

Not only did I survive the ride, I found myself thereafter completely addicted to roller coasters. That right there entails the sum total of my thrill seeking adventures. While I may have considered such things as bungee jumping and sky diving, I never felt compelled to take the plunge.

Every day across America there are  thousands of successful parachute jumps. Occasionally, one goes bad. According to the United States Parachuting Association, there are three million jumps a year and only 21 fatalities.  They say there is a 0.0007% chance of dying from a skydive, compared to a .0167% chance of dying in a car accident.

Sure, you could be walking down the street and be hit by a piece of falling space debris, or your car could suddenly burst into flames while driving down the road. Still, I find myself not wanting to tempt fate by putting myself into a situation where the risk and greater chance of dying  prematurely exists.

When I saw the video of this parachute failure, I am reminded of why I love the 'boring' life. "I'm dead. Bye!" the sky diver says just before impact. Fortunately, he does survive.