Resident soars in first skydive

Mary Lou Morris opened her Christmas gift from her son, Peter, and found an advertisement for skydiving.

“I almost fainted,” she said. “I said, ‘Peter, what makes you think I would possibly jump out of a plane?’”

Peter Morris, 50, had been on a balloon dive decades ago but had never jumped from a plane. He thought his mother might enjoy skydiving because she is a bit of a daredevil. At 73, she enjoys riding motorcycles and has ridden in a helicopter and a hot-air balloon.

Morris decided to give it a try March 1, when she went on a tandem dive at Sky Dive City in Zephyrhills.

Her brother, Bob Regan, 75, traveled with her to Zephyrhills and planned to stay grounded while his sister took to the skies. But approximately an hour-and-a-half before the dive, Regan — who also had never gone skydiving before — decided he would make the jump, too.

Morris was not especially nervous when it came time to dive out of the plane. She has never been afraid of heights, and her instructor, who was connected to her by a harness, assured her she would be fine.

They jumped at 13,500 feet and experienced 60 seconds of free fall. The 125 mph winds in the sky made her skin flap in the wind. She now jokes that she wishes she could have duct taped her cheeks.

“At first, I closed my eyes, then I thought, ‘What good is that?’” Morris said. “The rest was beautiful. I could coast down. I was absolutely thrilled.”

Morris called her son as soon as she was back on the ground.

His response: “Mom, I’m so proud of you.”

Morris’ adventure has earned her bragging rights among her neighbors at Beach Harbor Club, who still cannot believe she went skydiving. She does not plan to challenge her son to give skydiving a try because he has four young children.

But she does not think the March 1 trip will be the only dive for her and her brother.

“I think we will go again, probably not this year, but this time next year,” Morris said.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]