Americana: Falling Out of Love

Talk about bailing out of a marriage!

When Lynda Ballard, 31, a veteran of 750 parachute jumps, learned that Husband Gene, 34, who has made 1,800 skydives, wanted to end their 15-year marriage, she refused to accept the divorce papers. "Hell no!" she said. "You'll have to give them to me in free fall."

So on a sunny Saturday the couple, along with their lawyer, Steve Schlosser, and six of their closest friends, leaped out of three planes flying 10,500 ft. above the airport in Antioch, Calif. The plan called for Gene to hand over...

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