Blind man's parachute jump.

[Andyvon]

A local newspaper reporter heard about a blind man who enjoyed skydiving. He thought this would make a good story for his paper so he arranged to meet the man at the airfield the following day. When he arrived at the airfield the reporter saw the jump aircraft standing on the runway and the blind man standing beside it. The blind man was wearing a jump suit, parachute, helmet and dark glasses and his guide dog was sitting patiently at his feet. The reporter introduced himself and then took out his notepad and pencil and started to ask questions.

"So how long have you been skydiving?" asked the reporter.
"Oh, about 4 years now" replied the blind man.
"And what altitude do you jump from?" asked the reporter.
"Usually about 15,000 feet" replied the blind man. "It's sometimes higher, but usually about 15,000 feet".
"That's amazing" said the reporter and he wrote it down.
"And what speed to you reach when you leave the plane?" asked the reporter.
"Well, about 120 mph" replied the blind man. "It's beautiful to be falling through the air at that speed with just your thoughts and the roar of the wind".
"Well, that's wonderful" said the reporter. "You're amazing" and he wrote that down too.
"And you're totally blind. You can't see anything at all?" asked the reporter.
"That's right" replied the blind man. "I can't see anything at all".

Then the reporter sucked his pencil and thought for a short while.
"Well, I hope you don't mind me asking" said the reporter,
"But if you're totally blind and can't see anything at all, how do you know when it's time to open your parachute?"

"Ah well" replied the blind man.
"I know I've got to start yanking on the rip cord - when my lead goes slack!"