Local senior finishes bucket list in style

ITHACA, N.Y. (WBNG) -- Skydiving is one of the most popular experiences when it comes to making a bucket list and a local senior was able to check that off his after making the jump of a lifetime Monday.

“Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane has always been something on my bucket list.”

But 71-year-old Ed Allen might be the last person you’d expect to actually do it.

“I don’t like airplanes,” Allen explained, “I fly radio-controlled airplanes but I stay on the ground while they fly, but I don’t like airplanes, I don’t like heights.”

Ed’s journey started about a year ago when he heard about an organization called My Jump! It’s a non-profit out of California whose mission is to help low-income seniors check something off their bucket list.

We spoke with Webb Weiman, the Founder of My Jump!, who said they’ve completed all sorts of different experiences on bucket lists over the years.

“You can go in a racecar, we’ve taken people in an 18 wheeler, and we’ve done a lot on the ground, but to get off the ground, I think is very symbolic for achieving something that you’ve never done before,” Weiman says.

So with the help of Skydive Finger Lakes, Ed’s dream was starting to take flight.

“Webb Weiman from My Jump! gave me a call and was looking for a drop zone to get Ed in the air with, obviously more than happy to handle that for him and it’s been a great experience so far,” Jeff Foster, Owner/Operator of Skydive Finger Lakes explained.

When it came to what Ed was looking forward to the most during the jump?

“Weightlessness. I’m looking forward to those 20 to 30 seconds of weightlessness.”

And after months of waiting, Ed finally was able to feel the weightlessness he was looking for.

“I think this organization above anything else, is truly about the moments,” said Webb Weiman “It’s the moment they land, it’s the moment they look at you with the twinkle in their eye, you can feel the gratitude in their heart. It’s really all those things combined that make me believe that what we’re doing, is not only something good but life-changing.”

With his bucket list now complete, Ed seems pretty happy to be back on solid ground.

“It was fun but I don’t think I want to do it again,” Ed said with some chuckle “Beautiful view, great experience, it was something I needed to do once.”

If you want to learn more about the organizations, you can check out MyJump! and Skydiving Finger Lakes.