Carl Boenish's House . . .

[Nick]

The neighborhood is strictly suburban Southern Californian and it's the same house Carl Boenish grew up in and still occupies as an adult. There's a single prominent feature in the area that may figure into Carl's later way of thinking. It’s a 300-foot water tower that overpowers the view from any direction. You can stand in Carl’s backyard, at night, and see it's red collision lights, blinking away . . . calling.

I stop short of the driveway and picture a past sunny day, many years ago, and a 16-year old Ritchie Stein rolling by the same spot on his bicycle. He stops because he sees Carl's car in the drive-way with a bumper sticker saying, "BASE." Ritchie thinks it's a vague drug reference and pulls into the driveway and this act of fate later enables him, without any prior parachuting experience, to become the youngest person (17 years old at the time) to earn BASE number 74.

The driveway goes passed the small house and terminates at Carl’s large, darkroom, screening room, camera repair/maintenance, parachute loft, garage. I remember standing a foot from Carl’s work bench, camera lenses are laying out, wires running no-where, and soldering irons all waiting for his return, like he went out for a hamburger or something. This is two years after his death.

I looked, and marvel, to my right there’s black mass laying on a carton and it’s the, “Cape.” The wings used in the movie, “The Gypsy Moths” and Jean Boenish saying, “Yes, they are rather cool.” She’s in her early thirties, cute when the light hits her right, and still enamored, as we all were, with her dead husband Carl Boenish.

Before seeing us we sat, Ralph Mittman, Moe Viletto, and I, on a couch in Carl Boenish's living room. There’s large white grand piano in the center of the room and a killer sort of Salvador Dally piece of art, a skydiving thing that mesmerized any way you looked at it. That’s when I said, “Hey, I bet Carl’s sitting right here when he says, hey, let’s go to Norway . . .”

We are trying to stop laughing (like giggling in church) when Jean walks into the room and I asked her if I could see the Book. I think she sensed my reverence and invites me back into her bedroom and while I’m standing there, blow away, she retrieves, I swear from under the mattress of her bed, the original hand written book of BASE numbers.

“Carl started keeping this right after announcing the program.” Jean said, slowly handing me the green covered tome. I opened it and saw Carl’s hand, the same writing I saw in his logbook some years earlier and I see Phil Smith, BASE number one, and so on . . .

We eat, and we drink, and she misses him dearly, and Moe asks to use the bathroom, cause he says it doesn’t feel right peeing on a bush outside this house.

Nick Di Giovanni
BASE 194
:P

[K]

Nice one Nick! Thanks for attempting to upgrade this poor Board...it's getting beat to crap lately.

Love ya,

K
xoxoxox

[guest]

I have always enjoyed listening to you tell storys Nick and now I find my self enjoying your writing. After work I usually look at the board one last time before closing up for the night and every now and then I see one of uncle Nicks bed time storys. I think to my self, now this is what the board should be about. I would love to see these storys storys of yours published in a book and I would happily buy a copy. Any chance of that ever happening?

[guest]

Hi Nick. Loved the story, nice and upbeat. Carl was an amazing and genuine person. A real Buttermilk guy. In 83 Phil Smith, Kevin V, brother Randy and I were in a little town in Texas to do the first jumps off of a freight train over the 300' high bridge. It was 108 degrees that day and when we got back, Carl reached behind the seat and grabbed a quart of hot buttermilk and chugged it. Almost made me sick watching, but that is about as strong as he drank. He was totally dedicated to the spirit of BASE jumping and believed it was truly the celebration of the human spirit. Carl always gave everyone the benefit of the doubt when he found out you had BASE jumped. We all need to remember like Carl did, on the edge, we're all the same. In that sense, we are all related to a group that most folks really can't comprehend. Joy and I are proud that we can continue keeping the original BASE numbers, and you're right Nick, its a rush sometimes just to open that book and read the names and the annotations about the first BASE jumps and regretably about some of the friends we've lost.
Thanks Nick.
Rick

[guest]

With Nicks fantastic style and some of the images availbale today a book like this would be a sure fire seller...I will buy a copy or three...

BASE 621

mojo240@talk21.com

[guest]

Yo! Are there any chicks with big cans in that neighborhood, yo?

[guest]

Nik,

I would like to meet you someday. I ahve always enjopyed your magazine & storys. You too are a mentor to our sport.

Thanks for the short BASE history class. You need to publish your writings into a book. I too would buy a copy.

I knew this BASE board had some meaning to it.

THANKS NIK.