If you're comfortable sharing, what are your stories of near-misses, when you came close to serious injury or worse?
I had a minor experience when I was about 13. I leaned too far over a candle on a low table, and the front hem of my untucked, buttoned shirt caught fire. Seeing the flames suddenly licking their way up my shirt, I started running forward for no particular reason. I headed towards the backyard, maybe to stop, drop and roll on the lawn. As I ran, a moment later I grabbed the shirt, ripped it open, bursting the buttons off Superman-style, and threw it off. The flames fizzled out as it sat in a heap on the lino kitchen floor.
I looked down at my torso and found not the slightest burn. I don't know how the hell I managed to get a flaming shirt off without a scratch. I guess adrenaline makes you stronger and quicker.
When I was in my mid-twenties, I was driving in rural South Australia with my then-girlfriend. It was near sunset and it was a small car - big mistake. I was doing about 100 km/h. I spotted a kangaroo, on the passenger side of the road, pointing towards me like it was going to T-bone us. You're not supposed to swerve, but my reptile brain did. I wrenched the car to the right, and it bounced around on what felt like two wheels. 'You've blown a tyre!' my girlfriend said. I wrestled the car onto a straight path again and brought it to a stop.
My girlfriend hadn't seen the kangaroo and took the violent motion to be a high-speed tyre blowout. I was very lucky not to hit the kangaroo, or roll the car and get us killed, or stranded injured on a quiet road at nightfall. I'm not sure whether the kangaroo would have hit had I just applied the brakes, and what effect that would have on a small car.
I'm sure there are plenty much more interesting stories to tell than mine.
I had a minor experience when I was about 13. I leaned too far over a candle on a low table, and the front hem of my untucked, buttoned shirt caught fire. Seeing the flames suddenly licking their way up my shirt, I started running forward for no particular reason. I headed towards the backyard, maybe to stop, drop and roll on the lawn. As I ran, a moment later I grabbed the shirt, ripped it open, bursting the buttons off Superman-style, and threw it off. The flames fizzled out as it sat in a heap on the lino kitchen floor.
I looked down at my torso and found not the slightest burn. I don't know how the hell I managed to get a flaming shirt off without a scratch. I guess adrenaline makes you stronger and quicker.
When I was in my mid-twenties, I was driving in rural South Australia with my then-girlfriend. It was near sunset and it was a small car - big mistake. I was doing about 100 km/h. I spotted a kangaroo, on the passenger side of the road, pointing towards me like it was going to T-bone us. You're not supposed to swerve, but my reptile brain did. I wrenched the car to the right, and it bounced around on what felt like two wheels. 'You've blown a tyre!' my girlfriend said. I wrestled the car onto a straight path again and brought it to a stop.
My girlfriend hadn't seen the kangaroo and took the violent motion to be a high-speed tyre blowout. I was very lucky not to hit the kangaroo, or roll the car and get us killed, or stranded injured on a quiet road at nightfall. I'm not sure whether the kangaroo would have hit had I just applied the brakes, and what effect that would have on a small car.
I'm sure there are plenty much more interesting stories to tell than mine.