39.0°
Say It’s Your Birthday! For Wayne Peterson, age is no barrier at all. He celebrated his 80th by skydiving. Courtesy photo |
Comments (1)Out & About: 80 Years Young
By David BunkerPublished: August 15, 2010
Eightieth birthday parties are not supposed to go like this — a sudden leap from a plane 13,000 feet in the air and then a freefall, hurtling through the sky toward the ground.
But that was how Wayne Peterson — a former newspaper owner and 20-year veteran of the bell staff at the Resort at Squaw Creek — celebrated his eighth decade on Earth, with a stomach-churning skydive on July 13.
“I am a pilot and I said I would never exit a perfectly working aircraft,” Peterson said.
But one of his co-workers convinced him to take the trip to Lodi and take the leap.
“It sounded good to me at the time,” said Peterson.
To those who know Peterson, the choice of celebration may have been surprising, but certainly not out of character. Co-workers know him as the perpetually upbeat guy who has been at the resort since it opened.
“Well liked, always positive, always smiling,” is how Marc Sapoznik, marketing manager at the Resort, described Peterson. “He is a testament to keeping that youthful attitude.”
Peterson is now working on purchasing an ultra-light aircraft with an enclosed cockpit. If he has it purchased by next spring, he knows what he’ll be doing for his 81st birthday — flying from Reno to his hometown in Minnesota.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” said Peterson, “because after Denver it is all downhill.” ~ David Bunker
1 Reader Comment so far ...