More on Jumping Out of Planes! the FJ40 that tows the boat, and, well, general nonsense

Sometimes one wonders how a story should begin, or possibly even when it should begin. What are the best opening lines? Should we go with Pynchon's "A screaming comes across the sky" or Gass' "So I have sailed the seas and come...to B...a small town fastened to a field in Indiana" or Barth's "For whom is the funhouse fun? Perhaps for lovers." Perhaps none, or perhaps all, but there is always fun to be had for lovers.

In mid August I took a one way flight from Cincinnati to Phoenix to acquire the Toyota FJ 40 that can be seen towing the boat around. This is the third yellow vehicle that I have owned so I must be expressing some kind of subconscious preference for the color; it has trumped black, blue, brown, and silver. The important part is that Erick and I needed a vehicle that could pull the sailboat to and from lakes. The drive back along Interstate 40 was not without life's vicissitudes. I have taken this drive a large enough number of times that I can no longer count them. I find it odd that I always seem to end up at the same gas stations, hotels, campgrounds, and places I would never otherwise eat were I not traveling. The New Mexico leg of the trip involved replacing the alternator on the FJ, which I was able to do myself with some borrowed tools from Autozone, despite the fact that I know

very little about automobile repair. Also, if you are ever in Gallup, New Mexico and your hotel room phone rings, just don't answer it. I did and received the most hilarious solicitation for prostitution I have ever heard, or, perhaps you should answer it because I guarantee you will laugh.

I found a few pictures in my computer machine of a jump that Andrea and I did near Cottonwood, Arizona earlier in the year, so I thought I would throw them up here just for posterity's sake while we are waiting for the pictures of our most recent jump. The jump in Arizona had some super excellent scenery to go along with it as well, not to in any way disparage the flatness of Ohio. So, yes I am not quite sure how or when to begin a story, but so far I am liking the script, and yet I still sometimes find myself saying, "Oh Boy. How did it ever come to this. Was there something that I missed?"