On the week of July 4th 2006 I learned to hang glide. Learning was fun. I would get up at 5:00AM every morning to train on the hills until noon. The hang gliders weighed about 80lbs and had to be carried up the hill for each flight. As tough as this was, it didn’t seem to matter much. The flights were worth it.
Training started on the small hill with a handful of students and our instructor, Dan. We worked on flying straight, maintaining control, and landing on our feet. Landing comes as second nature to those with experience, but it took several grass stains for me to get the hang of it. One student attempted to land while still 30 feet in the air, stalled, and broke his arm in the resulting nose-dive. Dan was visibly upset that someone had gotten hurt on his watch, but it wasn’t his fault at all. After three days, I was landing well most of the time and graduated to the big hill.
The small hill was fun, but the big hill was a level or two above “fun.” On the big hill I started with 45-degree turns, then 90-degree turns. I really liked my instructor Lauren’s teaching style. Her feedback was as much about meditation and focus as it was about hang gliding. During one of my 90-degree turns I was caught by a gust of wind and nearly crashed into the slope. Instinct took over and I aggressively pulled the glider back on course. At that point I hadn’t graduated from the Big Hill, but I had found my mental wings. Completing the final few tests was a breeze.
Once I had graduated from the big hill, it was on to The Mountain. After I had begun my training on the hills, The Mountain didn’t seem so tough. However, when I knew I would soon be jumping off it I was looking at the 1,300 foot drop with new eyes. I remember walking to the edge of The Mountain on the day I would be jumping; I felt my stomach drop and my breath quicken as if I had been dunked into an icy river. Wow.
I began assembling the glider and realized that I hadn’t actually put a glider together without instructions until this point. I didn’t miss a step. I gave the glider an extremely thorough pre-flight inspection, carried it to the runway, and hooked in. It took about ten minutes for the wind to change enough for launch. I heard my instructor, Gordan, say “whenever you’re ready.” Before I knew what I was doing I heard myself yelling “clear!” and felt my legs carrying me straight over the edge.
As I went over, a funny thing happened in my mind. For a second, there was no more earth to hold me up and I was falling. I was aware that I was falling, not flying, and that this was OK. I was also aware of the setting sun, the pink and purple clouds, the sound of birds somewhere far away, the flicker of a bonfire below. Then, suddenly, the speed of my fall gave lift to the glider and I was flying.
My presence of mind returned in a snap and I realize that, as aware as I had been of the earth and sky, I was hardly aware of myself. I had heard a whoop followed by wild laughter and I realized that the whooping and laughing was my own! I chuckled at this and I just felt… happy.
As I entered the landing zone, I began circling to lose altitude. I landed perfectly on target and on my feet – light as a feather. To my surprise, nearly everyone I had met in my week long visit was sitting out in lawn chairs, drinking beer. They had watched the entire flight. When I touched down, they all clapped and cheered and ran over to congratulate me.
I couldn’t have asked for a better vacation.
Today I played Spider-Man at Parties on Air for a kids 4th birthday party, just because I could. I had a great time. I got a little worried when I walked in and heard one of the kids say “I don’t think that’s Spider-Man, I think that’s a real man.” But she seemed quite convinced when I handed her a spidey-mask a few minutes later. 
After handing out paper Spider-Man masks and gift bags, I sat in on the special Spider-Man throne that had been setup. The kids were fascinated but afraid to approach. My wife overheard the birthday-boy say to one of his friends, “Be brave! Go meet Spider-Man! Be brave!”. I think he was talking to the same kid that later came up to me, gave me a high five, then ran like hell.
Later I gave a demo of Spider-Man’s web-slinging abilities. While setting up, a kid from a different party came running up to me shouting “Hey Spider-Man! Remember when you came to my birthday party?” His mom stood behind him biting her lip and nodding yes with a worried look on her face. So I told him “of course I do!” to which he replied “I think you got taller!”
