Howdy folks,<br><br>It was another interesting week at work, and I thought I'd share some experiences that show the value of preparedness. Not that anyone here really needs that lesson reinforced....<br><br>I drive a delivery truck for a construction company in eastern KY; I deliver tools and building materials to and from job sites. The truck I drive is old (83' F700 w/ stake bed). Rural eastern Ky is famous for small twisty, hilly roads that must be shared with coal trucks. Monday this week, I met a coal truck rounding a bend on one of these small roads. He was about three feet into my lane (no choice really, the roads are SMALL, and coal trucks are BIG. On one side of the road is mountain, on the other is river). I was very lucky in that all that happened was an attempted exchange of mirrors. My mirror was destroyed. Neither of us made any attempt to stop (no point and no where to stop without blocking the road). My window was all the way down (no AC in the truck).... thank God for my glasses; as it was, I was pulling glass fragments out my hair and mustache for the next day and a half. (Does anybody know why they don't make the things out of safety glass?)<br><br>Anyway, after finding a safe place to pull over (20 minutes and 3 cigarettes down the road) I dug into the first aid kit in the truck and found that it was empty save for an alcohol pad and empty spool of tape (it has since been replaced--I should have checked it long before I needed it). Fortunately, I carry bandaids in my wallet. The alcohol pad came in handy however, and the tweezers in my SAK were used to remove a sliver or two. <br><br>Much harder and more neccessary to fix was the mirror. There was one decent sized piece of mirror left in the frame, I removed it and set it aside. The mirror frame was hanging limply by one bolt. The hanger frame was missing several screws and rattled like hell. I wired the mirror frame into place with my Leatherman and the wire from my PSK. The chunk of mirror was padded with a crushed styrofoam cup and duct-taped back in place. I carry a roll of duct tape in the truck always (it makes a good drink holder, and has other uses, too). It took me a while to figure out what to do about the hanger frame, but after several tries I finally found something that worked. I cut up a bungee cord and used it to shim/pad the hanger until it didn't rattle...much. Hey, it got me home...<br><br>I won't insult anyone's intelligence by pointing out lessons learned or anything like that.<br><br>All for now. Part II will be later.<br><br>Take care,<br><br>Andy

My day was utterly uneventfull until I staggered up the stairs @ 6 P.M. PDT. Ascending the dark stairwell, I saw what looked like a sock in a step's corner. Illumination with my Photon2 revealed a coiled diamondback. It was only a 1' youngster with a single button. Clamoring behind me were several children from the swimming pool.Forgive me Mr. Krauber, but I decapitated it with my Finnish Leuko knife. I was doing a few more impromptu field comparisons today. When it comes to buzzworms, big is better.

Several weeks ago, I was trying to concentrate on some necessary reading at home. My kids were playing outside. I thought I heard them calling me faintly. I looked out a window and saw them doing something at their swing. Then I noticed that the oldest (then 11 1/2 years old) was actually hanging from the swing! I ran to them as quickly as I could. I was relieved when I heard the oldest screaming & scared! He was hanging upside down by his leg which was caught in the rope. His leg was entangled in the rope which was badly twisted. I told him to brace himself. I held his leg & cut the rope, letting him down gradually but still into an undignified heap. He, & his 9 yo brother had been twisting the 2 ropes holding the swing a few dozen turns as one of them sat on the seat. When released, the rider got a fast spinning ride until the rope finally unwound. This last time, however, he became too dizzy & fell backwards almost off the swing, except for his lower leg which was caught between the seat & the twisted ropes. Not exactly a life saver, but still an exciting experience.<br><br>A few years ago (well actually 6), I had just come from a fun shooting day at the range. I was wearing heavy lace-up boots due to an ankle injury. My wife had been on lifeguard duty at our pool all afternoon. She wanted relief. I took over. I also tried to do some serious reading. However that required enough concentration that I found that I could not effectively watch the kids in the pool. I grudgingly put aside the materials. A few minutes later, I saw the head of my then wading 3 yo go totally underwater & not reemerge as he edged out of the shallow end. In his inimitably recalcitrant manner, he had not yet learned to swim. Fortunately he was still in sufficiently shallow water that I did not need to take the time to remove my boots before I waded in & lifted him out of the water (chest deep for me). He had only been under water for about 10-15 seconds & had not taken in any water. Naturally I got his strongest hug ever. After that experience, it took him 3 more years before he would release the shallow edge of the pool. He has since become a proficient swimmer. I am continually grateful to God that I kept my parental duties paramount rather than trying to read & watch the kids at the same time. Otherwise the compromise might have been tragic. Attention is crucial when the circumstances can be deadly.<br><br>John

John,<br><br>Your experience re: lifeguarding brought back many memories. I worked my way through college lifeguarding at a planned community in Mississippi. I made many "saves" over those three years (I didn't finish my degree), most of them similar to yours. Youngin's were always getting in over their heads, pardon the pun. The most memorable one involved a full grown man in three feet of water. He had had a towel wrapped around his neck, was sitting in the shallow end, had been drinking, and nodded off. The towel was sucked into an intake and he panicked, pulling the towel tight around his neck, holding him under water. All he had to do was relax, he could have then unwrapped the towel and surfaced, but it didn't occur to him in that state of mind. I got there, saw the problem, and tried to make him calm down, but couldn't. When I tried to push him farther under to get the towel off, he started fighting. I'm 5'10" and 150lbs. This guy was 6' 4'' and 250 lbs, easy; I gave that idea up quickly. I seriously considered waiting for him to pass out so I could unwrap him and go from there, but a crowd had formed, and appearances.... I shocked the crowd anyway by flicking open my Spyderco and carefully cutting the towel at the intake. All of this occured in less than a minute, the guy was fine. He thanked me for saving his life by filing a complaint with my supervisor, allegeing that I had endangered his life by a: pushing him further under, and b: using a knife so close to his face/throat. I should have let natural selection work... Also, several of the old ladies present complained about the knife (an Endura), saying it was "scary," and that no one who would carry one should be working around "decent people". Fortunately, my boss was a stand up guy. He answered the first complaint by telling the clown, in writing, "In answer to your complaint sir, I have instructed Mr. Coleman to let you die next time." In answer to the LOL's (little old ladies) he asked me to see the knife, asked me where I got it, and started carrying one himself. Best boss I ever had.<br><br>Take care,<br><br>Andy

Andy,<br><br>At least you had a good boss. Still, it's pretty discouraging. I think the the kinds of responses you got do discourage rescuers/good samaratans. Thus natural selection does come into play. Somehow, that's still not consoling. And I guess, deep down in our hearts, we really don't want it to be so. <br><br>Maybe the moral of the story is that you did do the right thing, and while you did get kicked in the teeth for it, at least they weren't broken. And before I come up with any more such uplifting thoughts...<br><br>Best wishes, <br><br>John