President George H.W. Bush with Army Golden Knight Sgt. Bryan Schnell
Former President George H.W. Bush celebrated his 80th birthday with a 13,000-foot parachute jump over his presidential library Sunday, and said he felt the same thrill of prior jumps even though his hopes of skydiving solo were dashed.
He made a tandem jump - harnessed to a member of an Army's Golden Knights parachute team - after officials decided the wind conditions and low clouds made it too dangerous for the 41st president to jump alone, which he did when he turned 75.
The crowd included his wife, Barbara, his son Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev - whom the former president had invited to jump with him.
"Afraid," Gorbachev said through an interpreter, explaining why he didn't accept the offer. "Maybe on his 90th birthday. ... For me, it would be a first. At my age, that may kill me."
Instead of jumping with Bush, Gorbachev gave Bush a bottle of vodka and flowers.
Bush said Sunday he hoped his stunt sent a message to people that "at 80 years old, you've still got a life."
"For me, I like speed. I like the thrill of it," he said. But the jump also "sets an example for older people, here and abroad, that just because you're 80 years old, it doesn't mean you're out of it."
President Bush sets a great example for people of any age.
-Tim
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