Bush celebrates 85th with skydive
Former US president George H.W. Bush enjoyed his 85th birthday in
style Friday with a 3,200 meter (10,500 foot) tandem parachute jump -
and pledged to do the same at age 90.Bush, president from 1989 to 1993,
made his first jump over half a century ago as a pilot during World War
II, when his plane was crippled over the Pacific.
"It still feels good. You still get a charge out of it," he told CNN
television after the almost three kilometer (two miles) high leap in
Kennebunkport, Maine, near his summer home.Watched over by wife Barbara,
his son former president George W. - who left office in January - and
another son, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, the 41st US leader made
the jump harnessed to a member of the US Army parachute team.He said he
hoped his extreme birthday celebration could be inspire other senior
citizens."You can go out and get something done," he told the network.
"Just because you're old, that doesn't mean you can't do fun stuff.
And you don't want to sit around drooling in the corner," he added.
"It's a wonderful release."Bush famously made jumps on his 75th and 80th
birthdays and, he pledged, he hopes to make another on his 90th.
-AFP
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