“I’m going with you,” said the then 90-year-old Ben Hoogenbosch to nurse Betty Kuijper. She’d just told him she’d been given a skydiving gift for her wedding day. She didn’t believe him, but he did. Now, three years later, Hoogenbosch has made a parachute jump for the second time in his life.
This time, his six grandchildren and one great-grandchild were with him when he made a tandem jump over Texel airport last weekend. It was a bit cloudy, but the view was otherwise good. “You could see the Vliehors and the Slufter nature reserves from the air,” he told our media partner. Texel Courant†
Although it is quite special that someone at such an advanced age still does something like this, Hoogenbosch himself remains sober. “Just go down.” This morning he repeated that on NH Radio: “It’s nothing.” A gutsy guy? No he is not. “I’ve been married to the same woman for 65 years, so you’re not a brat, are you? The skydiving jump is just one of the fun things in life.” He didn’t think it was scary: “You can only go down.”
Back in two years
He was taken by car to the plane and after the jump himself walked back to his family who were waiting for him downstairs with big fun eyes. In two years he hopes to take such a leap again: “Then I’ll be 95 and the oldest Texel to do this.”