I certainly remember building model rockets. It was fun to watch the rocket blast into the air, suspenseful to wonder if the parachute would open to bring the rocket safely back.

Ninety-nine percent of pilots that go up never have engine failure, and the 1 percent that do usually land it. But if you're up in the air and something goes wrong, you pull that parachute, and the whole plane goes down slowly.

I'm scared of heights, but for my 30th birthday I'm going to try and get someone to kick me out of a plane and do a parachute jump.

A matter, as the famous book intoned, of finding the shade of the parachute that best complemented you. But really: With no parachute at all you'd hit the pavement so hard it probably wouldn't even hurt, and you'd unleash a whole new color palate-bone, blood, muscle-in the process.

We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it's there for emergencies but he hopes he'll never have to use it.

Life in the twentieth century is like a parachute jump: you have to get it right the first time.

I did not just fall in love. I made a parachute jump.

Ninety-nine percent of pilots that go up never have engine failure and the 1 percent that do usually land it. But if you're up in the air and something goes wrong you pull that parachute and the whole plane goes down slowly.