George H. W. Bush Celebrates His 90th Birthday in Daring Fashion - By Skydiving

 

By Jaqueline Klimas
WashingtonTimes.com

Former President George H. W. Bush rides tandem with Sgt. Michael Elliott of the Army Golden Knights parachute team as he celebrates his 85th birthday with a parachute jump, Friday, June 12, 2009, over Kennebunkport, Maine. (AP Photo/Army Golden Knights, SSG Joe Abeln)

Former President George H.W. Bush is celebrating his 90th birthday on Thursday with friends and family — and by jumping out of a plane.

After making a jump to celebrate both his 80th and 85th birthdays, Mr. Bush said he will go skydiving again in Kennebunkport, Maine, to celebrate 90.

“I got one more left in me,” the former naval aviator told his granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager in an interview on NBC’s “Today.” “It’ll be fun.”

Mr. Bush said his first experience skydiving was leaving his plane during World War II when his engine caught fire and waiting for hours to be picked up out of the ocean.

“I did it wrong, I pulled the jump cord too early and hit the tail of the plane,” he said. “I decided later on that I wanted to do it right. That did spark my interest in making another jump.”

Mr. Bush said he often thinks about the two other men in the plane with him, both of whom died, and why it was him who survived. Despite that, he said he’s thoroughly enjoyed his second chance on life that’s included serving in Congress, as an ambassador to the United Nations, as director of the CIA and as the 41st president.

“I’m sure I could’ve done a lot of things better, but it’s been a fulfilling time in my life,” he said. “It was interesting times. I enjoyed it all. I enjoyed life.”