I was chatting with friends about risks we took & accidents we had in our younger days Some of them surprised me more than mine did.
My parents liked to take trips to Las Vegas. Mostly my mom liked the Roulette tables. My dad just wanted her happy.
My mom liked Joshua Trees & we always stopped in the desert so she could take photos next to them. When I was around 5 years old, we drove a mile or so into the desert & my dad started taking photos. I had a habit of wandering & petting every animal I found outside. My dad knew that & it was really stupid of him to not keep an eye on me. I found a large snake next to a bush & picked it up. Later, I learned it was a Rattlesnake. I remember thinking "He comes with his own built-in toy - how cute his tail was - with those rattles on it." I was handling him for at least 5 minutes when I heard my dad yell, "Hey...put that down...he can kill ya!" I said, "But he likes me." My dad didn't want to come near me while I was holding him. I gently put him down. To this day, I don't know why he didn't bite me or even rattle.
When I was 7, my dad had some kind of door-to-door sales job. He'd take me with him & I'd wait in the car while he knocked on doors. Again, he wasn't smart to leave me alone in that De Soto when he knew I liked to play with every button & switch in the car. Well, he parked on a hill & said, "Don't touch anything," then he started canvassing the block. Of course, when he was out of sight, the first thing I did was press the starter button. I loved the way it made the whole car shake. Well, everything was OK until I played with that pull-out parking brake lever, then the car started rolling down the hill, going faster & faster. I jumped into the back seat. The car went over a curb & hit a tree (luckily). It could have hit a pedestrian. He never yelled at me for that; maybe he realized how stupid HE was.
My mom was a terrible driver. I must have been around 4 at the time. She was driving with me in the passenger seat, eating a candy bar. For some reason, she hit the curb & the car flipped onto it's roof. I ended up curled in a ball on the floor. I must have been crying. When the ambulance arrived, the driver asked me if I was hurt. I said, "No." He said, "Then why are you crying?" I said, "I can't find my candy bar."
A year later, I was speeding down a steep hill on my bicycle when a gardener pulled out in front of me. I slammed into the back of his pickup truck & flew over the entire truck, landing in the street. The only injury was to my right knee; it swelled up huge. I didn't want to tell my mom & dad, so I just ran home & hid, but my knee swelled up so big it was noticeable & my mom found out & took me to the ER. The doctor said, "Nothing broken; just put some ice on it.
(Don't read this one if you're squeamish). When I was 10, my brother & I were playing handball against the side of the house. I was barefoot. As I ran up to hit the ball, I heard a scraping sound. I looked down at my foot & saw that a nail went through the side of my big toe & out the other side. I started to pull it out but it was so rusted, it broke off. When I pulled on the other side, it also broke off, leaving a piece stuck inside the toe. Well, I went into the garage & found a brand new nail & used it to push out the broken piece. I poured peroxide into the hole & put a Band-Aid over each hole. It healed perfectly. "Tetanus?" What's that?
No more serious incidents....until I was 16. I'm swimming at the beach, maybe 50 yards from shore when I felt a tug on my foot - like someone grabbed it as a joke. I reached down & felt something thrashing. I didn't know what it was until it swam away & I saw the fin sticking out of the water - a small shark, (luckily) maybe 3-4 feet. The water was cold & I didn't feel any pain, so I thought it was minor, but when I got to shore, people started gasping & pointing at my foot. There was an open triangle-shaped flap & every time I took a step, it gushed; that's what was freaking people out. I wrapped it in a towel & drove home with my other foot. When I got home, I couldn't find bandages that were big enough, so I stuck the flap back on & covered it with masking tape. It healed fine - maybe the salt water prevented infection.
Anyone else feel lucky to have made it this far? :grin:
My parents liked to take trips to Las Vegas. Mostly my mom liked the Roulette tables. My dad just wanted her happy.
My mom liked Joshua Trees & we always stopped in the desert so she could take photos next to them. When I was around 5 years old, we drove a mile or so into the desert & my dad started taking photos. I had a habit of wandering & petting every animal I found outside. My dad knew that & it was really stupid of him to not keep an eye on me. I found a large snake next to a bush & picked it up. Later, I learned it was a Rattlesnake. I remember thinking "He comes with his own built-in toy - how cute his tail was - with those rattles on it." I was handling him for at least 5 minutes when I heard my dad yell, "Hey...put that down...he can kill ya!" I said, "But he likes me." My dad didn't want to come near me while I was holding him. I gently put him down. To this day, I don't know why he didn't bite me or even rattle.
When I was 7, my dad had some kind of door-to-door sales job. He'd take me with him & I'd wait in the car while he knocked on doors. Again, he wasn't smart to leave me alone in that De Soto when he knew I liked to play with every button & switch in the car. Well, he parked on a hill & said, "Don't touch anything," then he started canvassing the block. Of course, when he was out of sight, the first thing I did was press the starter button. I loved the way it made the whole car shake. Well, everything was OK until I played with that pull-out parking brake lever, then the car started rolling down the hill, going faster & faster. I jumped into the back seat. The car went over a curb & hit a tree (luckily). It could have hit a pedestrian. He never yelled at me for that; maybe he realized how stupid HE was.
My mom was a terrible driver. I must have been around 4 at the time. She was driving with me in the passenger seat, eating a candy bar. For some reason, she hit the curb & the car flipped onto it's roof. I ended up curled in a ball on the floor. I must have been crying. When the ambulance arrived, the driver asked me if I was hurt. I said, "No." He said, "Then why are you crying?" I said, "I can't find my candy bar."
A year later, I was speeding down a steep hill on my bicycle when a gardener pulled out in front of me. I slammed into the back of his pickup truck & flew over the entire truck, landing in the street. The only injury was to my right knee; it swelled up huge. I didn't want to tell my mom & dad, so I just ran home & hid, but my knee swelled up so big it was noticeable & my mom found out & took me to the ER. The doctor said, "Nothing broken; just put some ice on it.
(Don't read this one if you're squeamish). When I was 10, my brother & I were playing handball against the side of the house. I was barefoot. As I ran up to hit the ball, I heard a scraping sound. I looked down at my foot & saw that a nail went through the side of my big toe & out the other side. I started to pull it out but it was so rusted, it broke off. When I pulled on the other side, it also broke off, leaving a piece stuck inside the toe. Well, I went into the garage & found a brand new nail & used it to push out the broken piece. I poured peroxide into the hole & put a Band-Aid over each hole. It healed perfectly. "Tetanus?" What's that?
No more serious incidents....until I was 16. I'm swimming at the beach, maybe 50 yards from shore when I felt a tug on my foot - like someone grabbed it as a joke. I reached down & felt something thrashing. I didn't know what it was until it swam away & I saw the fin sticking out of the water - a small shark, (luckily) maybe 3-4 feet. The water was cold & I didn't feel any pain, so I thought it was minor, but when I got to shore, people started gasping & pointing at my foot. There was an open triangle-shaped flap & every time I took a step, it gushed; that's what was freaking people out. I wrapped it in a towel & drove home with my other foot. When I got home, I couldn't find bandages that were big enough, so I stuck the flap back on & covered it with masking tape. It healed fine - maybe the salt water prevented infection.
Anyone else feel lucky to have made it this far? :grin:
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