#barrie

Peter Pan

“The last thing he ever said to me was, ‘Just always be waiting for me’”

I'll teach you to jump on the wind's back and then away we go.

- J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

‘Those who don't jump will never fly’ is a dictum drilled into me from an early age. It’s one I took literally when I learned when parachuting and then later dabbled in sky diving, well before I went into the British army as a combat pilot.

Skydiving provides a unique combination of adrenalin-fuelled exhilaration and perfectly calm tranquillity. While in free fall it's all about the rush - but once the parachute opens and your heart rate steadies, you'll take a moment to gaze around you and see the whole world in a new light. It's beautiful up there, and the experience is about as close to actual flying as humans can actually get.

To the skydiver, ‘flying’ in a plane is akin to ‘swimming’ in a boat. As someone who has flown helicopters I would quible with that simple characterisation but eventually I’m okay to acknowledge there is some truth behind it.

As someone who used to parachute and sky dive as a recreational past time, I can empathise with those skydivers who live for the wind whipping past as they plummet toward the earth during free fall, and the thrill of floating on the air currents once their 'chutes are safely open. They live on the edge, though not in danger - amid the elements, but not at their mercy.

Iniziamo una nuova avventura.

The city of Barrie, Ont., has backed away from proposed bylaws that would have made it illegal to distribute food, literature, clothes, tents and tarps to unhoused people on public property. At a meeting on Wednesday night, council decided unanimously to refer bylaws 67 and 68 back to staff. The matter is expected to return to a general committee meeting later this year. "There should be zero fear out there that a bylaw officer or a peace officer is going to come and ask you not to give water to someone who needs it," Mayor Alex Nuttall told council chambers. Coun. Jim Harris, who represents Ward 8, said the intent of the bylaws was not to prevent people from helping unhoused people. [...]

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