One would imagine most people would prefer to spend their 95th birthday in a calm, quiet and relaxing manner - maybe a nice dinner with family and friends, sharing fond stories about the good old days. Nothing too exciting or stressful.

Kenneth Smith is not most people. This South Whitehall resident, retired construction worker and former 11th Airborne Division artillery serviceman marked his big day by leaping out of a plane at Sky’s the Limit in East Stroudsburg on July 18.

“This is going to be my seventh birthday jump. It’s something different,” Smith said. “Each jump is a little bit different but it’s all fun.”

A man of few words but plenty of action, Smith was something of a celebrity at the airport with a crew of first-time jumpers joining the birthday boy for pictures, and instructors saluting him for his service and continued dedication to skydiving.

Smith just may have caught the skydiving bug years ago while serving with the 11th Airborne, though the experience nowadays is just a tad different.

“Back then, as far as jumping goes, that got me $50 extra,” he said with a chuckle. Now, I pay $205 to jump.

While some may be terrified to ascend to 13,500 feet and free fall for up to a minute before opening the parachute and gliding down, Smith and the crew at Sky’s the Limit love every minute of it.

“It’s a thrill. You really have to experience it, there’s really no explaining it,” tandem skydive instructor and videographer Vinnie Reeder said. “Some people think it’s scary. Some people think it’s exciting.”

Reeder said while the initial jump is incredibly exciting, once the parachute opens, it is a relaxing ride to the ground with a gorgeous view.

Asked what he enjoys most about his jumps, Smith cracked a smile and responded, “Walking away from it.”

Smith’s friend Lois Binder commented on his love of skydiving.

“He’s been talking about it since last year, and he’ll be talking about doing it again next year within a day or two,” Binder said. “I think he lives for it.”

Even though he needed just a bit of help to get on the plane, Smith handled his tandem jump with instructor Joe Rizza like a seasoned professional.

Upon coasting to the ground and getting back up, he was already planning out his next jump.

“It was good. I’m ready to go next year again,” he said with a grin.

Smith, who has an adventurous spirit, told The Press July 24, he has jumped out of planes about 20 times over the years, 12 in the military and about seven to eight times over the years on his birthday, July 18.

Jumping out of airplanes has not been his only thrill over the years.

When he was working at Bethlehem Steel, he purchased a used Harley Davidson motorcycle before being drafted into the Army in March 1943.

“When I got drafted, I shipped it to Camp Mackall in North Carolina,” Smith stated.

Smith drove the bike back home in late fall or early winter 1943 before shipping out to New Guinea.

“After I got out of the Army in 1945, I purchased another Harley Davidson motorcycle which I rode for six months until I wrecked it, injuring my left arm and breaking my wrist,” Smith said.

On his first date with his late wife, Gladys, his arm was still bandaged from the accident.

“I was harmless at the time,” he said with a laugh.

After he and Gladys married on Aug. 7, 1948, she put a stop to his thrill days and riding motorcycles.

However, he did take glider flying lessons in the 1970s at Slatington Airport, he said.

Over the years, Smith has been a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, worked for Cetronia Ambulance Corps, the former Trojan Powder Company and as an independent contractor remodeling and building homes.

Smith and Gladys have two daughters, Sally and Carol.