Risks you didn't know were risks

[Whites Bay]

I’d made a post last week that got me thinking about life’s randomity. I’ve done some stupid things – things that by all rights should have left me dead or maimed, but I didn’t know these events were risky at the time. I’ll provide a few examples, and would like to hear yours. Bear in mind that I’m not looking for “risks” that you took knowing that they were indeed “risks”. Just stoopid schit that you’ve done that really could have ended in a horrible fashion.

 

1) Age 14-ish. Grew up on Lake Ontario in Webster. I used to love walking on the ice in winter. One February, the ice “flash-froze” during a cold snap, and the following sunny afternoon I grabbed a stick and walked out on the brash ice more than a mile, all alone, and never told anyone. If I’d gone through the ice, no one would have ever known. They’d have found my body in Oswego in May. I told my Mom this story a few years ago (she’s almost 80 now), and she just went ashen. I felt awful.

 

2) Age 21-ish. Really loved snorkeling. I was up in the Thousand Islands exploring a granite cliff at about 10’ in depth. I saw a hole that looked passable (I could see light on the other side), and tried to swim through it. I got caught; my shoulders wedged. I couldn’t get through, and I basically only had 30 seconds to live. There were bryozoans all over the rocks, which made it slippery, and after about 20 horrifying seconds, I managed to push myself through to the other side. I didn’t snorkel for a year after that one.

 

3) Age 40-ish. Not as dramatic, but I’ve put it here because “I should have been old enough to know better”. I was in an antique boat in the eastern basin of Lake Ontario with no cell phone or radio, and used to go riding out into the shipping channel and chase freighters. I didn’t know it at the time, but there was massive residue in the bottom of the gas tank that would clog the fuel intake, and stall the engine with no warning. If that had happened in the middle of the lake…

 

None of these events were planned risks. They just happened. And I’m glad I’m still here. It’s the off season. Go ahead and reply. What random events have almost killed you?

 

"Theme from Midnight Cowboy" - Harry Neilsen

[Hossage]

I cant believe I made it out of my twenties, especially out of jail. I dont think I would be so lucky after ten more years of that. Hundreds (at least) of drunk drives, wanton hard drug abuse, dealing drugs, driving well over 100 mph, football, rugby, fights, whitewater kayaking, all kinds of things like that. Just give me a rocking chair on the front porch these days.

 

I once found myself squatting in a bush in a drugged out haze and realized I had been there for a couple hours and it was 20 degrees out and I was wearing a t shirt. Good thing I was drunk and in great shape, or I would have frozen to death.

[/dev/null]

A can of Denty Moore Beef Stew

 

But seriously, if you put the can on top of the refirgerator a little too close to the edge. And sometime later you open the fridge and start moving stuff around with your head looking down (and back of the skull exposed)...and that heavy can comes falling down

 

Felt the can whiff just pass my ear. It left a nick in the floor

 

A couple inches difference from dead center right where the spine meets the skull

 

[Jim in Anchorage]

15 Years in Alaska, I don't know where to start. I should have been fish food long ago.

[WotAGuy]

A can of Denty Moore Beef Stew

 

But seriously, if you put the can on top of the refirgerator a little too close to the edge. And sometime later you open the fridge and start moving stuff around with your head looking down (and back of the skull exposed)...and that heavy can comes falling down

 

Felt the can whiff just pass my ear. It left a nick in the floor

 

A couple inches difference from dead center right where the spine meets the skull

 

 

 

Ha! I'm sure there are others, but your story reminded me of one time when I did try to heat a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew on a Coleman stove....but neglected to vent the can. This was back before pop top cans. Thank God...that thing blew up like a balloon in no time. Would have died from the shrapnel......

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

I've probably got the wimpiest story here, but this is probably the closest I was to dying.

 

I had a pretty bad cold for a few days when I was 15 and one of the symptoms was heavy sneezing. After taking a shower, I stepped out to dry myself off. As I approached the bathroom counter to brush my teeth/shave/whatever, a sneeze suddenly came upon me and I sneezed so hard that I smacked my forehead against the iron, which my Mom had left out. Knocked me out for about 5 minutes, and I only came to after my family found me lying naked on the bathroom tile with blood seeping out of my head.

 

I had a fracture in my cranium and it gave me a very bad concussion...I got bad headaches for a while, but those have gone away. I still have a trianlge-shaped dent in my forehead.

[Doc]

Back when I was 7 or 8, I was at my local Wegman's in Penfield, NY. Back then, they had a big plate glass window in front, a "conveyor belt" of sorts that had wheels to roll plastic containers of groceries outside the store. Nearby the window were those candy dispensers. My mom was paying and I told her I wanted to go get some candy. She said "stay right here." A few moments later (enough time for me to be at the candy dispensers), a car came backing into the plate glass window, shattering the whole thing. had I been there, I'd have been seriously cut, maybe even dead. Who knew that getting candy was a risk!

[Jim in Anchorage]

I've probably got the wimpiest story here, but this is probably the closest I was to dying.

 

I had a pretty bad cold for a few days when I was 15 and one of the symptoms was heavy sneezing. After taking a shower, I stepped out to dry myself off. As I approached the bathroom counter to brush my teeth/shave/whatever, a sneeze suddenly came upon me and I sneezed so hard that I smacked my forehead against the iron, which my Mom had left out. Knocked me out for about 5 minutes, and I only came to after my family found me lying naked on the bathroom tile with blood seeping out of my head.

 

I had a fracture in my cranium and it gave me a very bad concussion...I got bad headaches for a while, but those have gone away. I still have a trianlge-shaped dent in my forehead.

It is wimpy. You fell on your moms iron? Good lord man, get out and do something

[ExiledInIllinois]

Hiking in the rocky moutains during a lightning storm... Get to the top of the ridge with lightning cracking down all around us within yards... As each one goes off, you just freeze. Get to the top of the ridge and a clearing... Straight across the clearing is the continuation of the trail... Made a mad dash straight across... It did save a considerable jaunt going around the top clearing.

 

No way we should have been on the move that evening... Let alone darkness... We were pushing it and trying to make rendezvous (which we did) with some others.

[LeviF]

Hanging out with my cousin in Letchworth State Park at age 7 or 8 or something like that. There's a bit of snow on the ground, so we slide down a hill on our stomachs. Ended up splitting my head open on a rather large rock.

 

Boy Scout camp when I was 13 or so. My tent-mate brought food into our tent without my knowledge, and forgot to take it out before bed. I wake up in the middle of the night with a huge brown bear in the middle of our tent. He ended up grabbing my tent-mate's bag and walking out with it. Scared the **** out of me though.

 

Got some near-death experiences, but those were all from obvious risks.

[Wacka]

Was at UB inthe late 70s. Taking computer intro course. Used punch cards (this was before PCs). After reading the cards you might have to wait several hours for the printout. Was there till about 2 AM one evening. Driving home down the 290 and 90. Fell asleep at the wheel. Came to and I was driving on the shoulder in front of the trooper barracks in Cheektowaga. Luckily I stayed on the road. Always made sure I didn't get that tired when having to drive home.

[Chef Jim]

Bills fan 45 plus years. Need I say more.

[Cynical]

I cant believe I made it out of my twenties, especially out of jail. I dont think I would be so lucky after ten more years of that. Hundreds (at least) of drunk drives, wanton hard drug abuse, dealing drugs, driving well over 100 mph, football, rugby, fights, whitewater kayaking, all kinds of things like that. Just give me a rocking chair on the front porch these days.

 

I can't believe I made it out of my teens.

 

Drunk driving, excessive speeding (not uncommon to happened at the same time), the occasional fight, ...

and the speeding had no limitations. Straight, drunk, day, night, with lights, without lights, dry, pouring rain, snow, ice ...

 

I once found myself squatting in a bush in a drugged out haze and realized I had been there for a couple hours and it was 20 degrees out and I was wearing a t shirt. Good thing I was drunk and in great shape, or I would have frozen to death.

 

I did a bunch of partying in the woods of Central PA, and I had similar situation to yours among others.

[DC Tom]

Hiked down Sandia peak. The west side (the steep slope). Along a cliff-side trail. At 10 at night. Without a light.

 

 

And there's bears.

 

 

Easily the dumbest thing I ever did...and I once picked a fight with a guy waving a revolver.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Hiked down Sandia peak. The west side (the steep slope). Along a cliff-side trail. At 10 at night. Without a light.

 

 

And there's bears.

 

 

Easily the dumbest thing I ever did...and I once picked a fight with a guy waving a revolver.

 

Don't worry the bears in that area wouldn't have hurt/killed you (only black bears)... The fall would have... The bears would have just eaten the nice food in your pack before morning!

 

One early morning a small black bear wondered into camp and took nothing but the Pop-Tarts and grape drink! Left the freakin' granola and proceeded to eat the good stuff only a few meters away from our prying eyes. Gee thanks Mr. Bear, another day on pure granola and water!

[Philly McButterpants]

You know how your mom always said to wait a half-an-hour after eating before swimming?

 

I went to Sleepy Hollow campground with a friend and his family when I was 15. I remember the day cuz it was the day WZIR came on the air and played "Psycho Chicken" all day.

 

They had a great lunchtime cookout and we ate like kings. Immediately afterwards my friend, his brother and I ran into the lake there and decided to swim out to the diving platform which was maybe 100 yards out.

 

Half-way there i cramped up, bad. My entire midsection exploded in pain and I curled up like a ball. I flailed my arms around a little, but my friend and his brother were well past me, and all of the swimmers on the beach were well behind me.

 

I was literally going down for the third time when my arm hit on a rope with floaters on it running out to the diving platform. Thanking God the whole time, I started to pull myself in towards the beach.

 

The genius lifeguard begins to yell to me to, "get off the rope!" through a bullhorn. He wanted to yell at me when I got to the beach but I kinda told him off when I got back on land.

[/dev/null]

One early morning a small black bear wondered into camp and took nothing but the Pop-Tarts and grape drink! Left the freakin' granola and proceeded to eat the good stuff only a few meters away from our prying eyes. Gee thanks Mr. Bear, another day on pure granola and water!

 

The bear that stole your pikanik basket sounds smarter than the average bear

[BillsRUs]

The bear that stole your pikanik basket sounds smarter than the average bear

 

hahahaha. Classic. I wonder if kids today know who Yogi Bear is. They probably don't know anyone outside Disney.

[Wooderson]

1. A couple years ago, myself and two of my friends went up to the U of R to visit my one buddy who was in a frat. We drank all night long with the occasional smoke down in between. We decide to hit a bizzong around 4 am when my buddy who lived there decides to leave us to go to some broad's room. He throws us in two rooms with random frat brothers that we didn't know so we could sleep. Once he leaves, we decide that there's no way we're just sleeping there by ourselves so we decide to drive home drunk/high from Rochester at 5am. My buddy easily could've got a DWI or crashed. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but when I woke up the next morning I realized how dumb it really was. Not to mention my buddy in the backseat was throwing up all over himself, so we had to cover him up in a garbage bag.

 

I know there's more, but I can't think of them right now. I'll have to check back in.

[zow2]

2) Age 21-ish. Really loved snorkeling. I was up in the Thousand Islands exploring a granite cliff at about 10’ in depth. I saw a hole that looked passable (I could see light on the other side), and tried to swim through it. I got caught; my shoulders wedged. I couldn’t get through, and I basically only had 30 seconds to live. There were bryozoans all over the rocks, which made it slippery, and after about 20 horrifying seconds, I managed to push myself through to the other side. I didn’t snorkel for a year after that one.

 

I can relate to the snorkeling story. I was 34, in Maui on my honeymoon. Snorkeling about 75-100 yds offshore near some coral. I thought it would be cool to check out the coral up close. I got caught in some waves, undertow or whatever? i kept getting sucked over the sharp coral..could not get my bearings, and started to panic. I had a hard time getting to the surface to catch some air while at the same time trying to avoid scraping up against coral. I freaked, thought i was gonna drown but managed to pull out of there. When i got to shore it was so serene and i tried not to upset my wife so i just acted all cool like nothing happened.