Far Out (Part One)

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Oct 19, 1999

Slang. I've been thinking about slang words lately. Also, hip words and words of hype. I've been searching for web sites focusing on English slang and then perhaps I'll move on to slang in other languages. I'm not sure where this journey will take me. Anyway, I started thinking about the slang phrase of "far out." I used it often when I was younger. According to Jonathon Green's Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, far out was the "mental 'space' entered under the influences of hallucinogenics" and was first used in the San Francisco Comic Book published by Rip Off Press in 1970.

Its meaning expanded to amazing! remarkable! wonderful! Contemplating this, I remembered an article I wrote while in college. In it I think is my definition of "far out." A long definition, but an accurate one. The following is the first part. I have resisted editing it at all because it captures my 20-year-old self and a true experience of what "far out" was to me at that time.

First jump 'far out' from Kansas State Collegian, Friday, November 3, 1972

"Arch 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000," Gary Hine, recited as he demonstrated the correct way to exit a plane.

At my first training session with the K-State Sports Parachute Club, I looked around at the other members intently watching Hine. They were normal people just like those I'd seen on campus. What made them want to leap from a perfectly good plane 2800 feet above the ground?

I began to wonder what made me want to float to earth suspended from a canopy. There are easier ways of researching stories. Why get first-hand knowledge when several interviews could serve the purpose?

Basically, I've always been fascinated with the idea of falling freely through the air. Also, getting a good description of a person's first jump is difficult. People's eyes glaze and rapt expressions spread over their faces: "Wow, it was far out!", they exclaim. Try writing an article based on that.

So I joined the Parachute Club. Gary and Dale Boyer instructed my group. At our first training session, they explained parts of the parachute, canopy control, landing and exiting. They also discussed use of the reserve parachute.

My interest sharpened when they began talking about the reserve chute. In case of a malfunction, the reserve is used. A licensed rigger re-packs a reserve every 60 days as a precaution against rotting of the chute. But because parachutes are made of nylon, deterioration is unusual.

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