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• Lodi housing market slow, but not sluggish as some

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• Former California legislator celebrates 83rd birthday with skydiving in Lodi

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February 8th, 2010

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February 3rd, 2010

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February 2nd, 2010

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• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

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February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

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Former California legislator celebrates 83rd birthday with skydiving in Lodi

Though she's petite with gray hair and officially fits in the "elderly" category, Marian Bergeson doesn't look her age.

She doesn't act it either: The former state legislator celebrated her 83rd birthday Friday by skydiving at Lodi Airport.

"When you get up there and look down, you think, 'I'm really going to do this.' And it's exciting," Bergeson said.

She was originally going to jump alongside Will Kempton, director of the California Department of Transportation, and flew up from Newport Beach to accommodate his schedule. But duty called Kempton to the Bay Area for the official reopening of the freeway that had melted and collapsed in a recent fire.

Bergeson jumped anyway. She was joined by her daughters, Julie McCormick and Nancy Bergeson, who hadn't jumped before.

Bergeson's husband, Garth, opted to stay home.

"He thinks I'm crazy," she said with a grin. "He's probably going to be jumping, but not from a plane."

Bergeson holds the honor of being the first Republican woman elected to both the state Assembly and Senate. She served a total of 18 years in the Legislature — 10 in the Assembly and eight in the Senate.

She was also secretary of education under Gov. Pete Wilson, and is currently on the California Transportation Commission, which she chaired last year.

Friday marked Bergeson's second time skydiving. The first time was about a dozen years ago, also at Lodi's Parachute Center.

"We had a budget that was held up for 65 days and I said, 'What more can we do but jump out of a plane?'" Bergeson said.

So when the budget passed, a large group of people, Bergeson included, did jump from a plane.

Bergeson, who loves roller coasters, watched a training video at the jump center off Highway 99 and Jahant Road, then she and her daughters followed instructors who helped them strap on suits.

Marian Bergeson comes in for a landing with help from Parachute Center skydiving instructor Dan Cassan on Friday. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

Other skydivers wondered about the news cameras following the entourage, and one young woman remarked that she was also there for her birthday — her 22nd.

Bergeson's jump partner, Daniel Cassan, asked which color of parachute she preferred and she instantly responded: "Well, who did the packing?" before choosing green.

Then, shortly before the group climbed into a plane, Bergeson talked to Kempton by cell phone just to make sure he knew he was missing out on the fun.

"Well, you'll have to wait until my 90th birthday now," she told him.

Then the plane took off, carrying them 13,000 feet into the sky. They had one minute of free fall before the jump partners pulled parachute cords, and then had another five minutes of floating to the ground.

Parachute Center skydiving instructor Dan Cassan helps Marian Bergeson, a former California legislator, put on skydiving gear Friday. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

Around 2:20 p.m., the first parachutes came into view, drifting down from the blue sky sprinkled with some light clouds. If laughter and shouts of "Whoooo!" were any indication, Bergeson's daughters enjoyed the descent.

As for Bergeson, she said the second time was even better than a dozen years ago. And she does plan to do it again for her 90th birthday.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.