THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996 TAG: 9606200176
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: PRIME TIME
SOURCE: Pam Starr
LENGTH: 62 lines
In one vein, Pat Blanchard is your typical grandmother. She knits and gardens and dotes on her two grandsons.
But in another sense, 62-year-old Blanchard is anything but typical. She works full time as a secretary at Norfolk Southern. She's been divorced for 31 years. She water skis. And on June 2 Blanchard leaped out of an airplane 15,000 feet up in the air.
Blanchard performed a free fall skydive in Raeford, N.C., a small town near Fayetteville. She had the dubious honor of being the oldest skydiver on the plane that day, but not the oldest one ever to take the plunge at Raeford Skydiving. A 92-year-old woman jumped out of the plane to celebrate her birthday, Blanchard was told.
This skydive was not about celebrating a birthday or any other milestone for Blanchard. The shapely blonde, who doesn't look a day over 50, decided to skydive because her life had become a little too ``complacent.'' Blanchard wanted to really jump start her batteries.
And falling through the sky at 125 mph did the trick.
``It was just awesome - I can't even describe the feeling,'' gushed Blanchard in her office. She was flipping through an album of pictures from the event, explaining the action in each shot.
``Here's me at the door, I think I was hyperventilating,'' Blanchard said. ``I forgot to smile for the camera. I forgot it was cold. I think I was numb. In the video you can tell I was almost in a panic.''
Her instructor, Rodney Cruce, was her tandem jumper. They were hooked together at the shoulders and waist, he wearing the 500-square-foot parachute. Cruce yelled one, two, three and then pushed a nervous Blanchard out the airplane door. The two fell 5,000 feet in a matter of seconds until Cruce pulled the chute. What a relief.
``It was like coming out of a wind tunnel,'' Blanchard recalled. ``We floated for another 10,000 feet. There wasn't a sound up there - it was a beautiful day with the clouds all fluffy and white. For five minutes it was glorious. And the landing was like stepping off a porch.''
Thrill-seeking seems to run in Blanchard's family. Daughter Robin has skydived, as has younger son Stuart. Older son Scott jumped the same day as his mom.
``Now I'm just ready for the next challenge. I've thought about whitewater rafting. Parasailing sounds kind of exciting. But I don't want to bungee jump,'' said Blanchard, a 1952 graduate of Norview High School and a resident of Lake Cypress. Of skydiving, she said, ``I don't know why I did it. But I was determined I would do it and not back down. I'm going to make this an annual event.''
THERE'S A NEW ORGANIZATION in town that wants to make sure the elderly are being cared for competently in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The Citizens Committee To Protect the Elderly is an all-volunteer, nonprofit group which was formed this year to address complaints and concerns for those residents, many who can't speak for themselves.
This organization is now accepting volunteers. Call director Judith Stevens Allison at 498-8600 if you would like to find out more about it. ILLUSTRATION: Pat Blanchard, 62, skydives from 15,000 feet with her
instructor Rodney Cruce. ``In the video you can tell I was almost in
a panic,'' she said. by CNB