Late WDT is late. I'm only a little sorry. Today I survived a kid's birthday party. Eh, that's a little dramatic. I had a bunch of people volunteer to help set up. The worst part was the cold, hard, constant wind, but I brought really good tape. I think the most dangerous things I have survived were by luck or medical intervention. For example, I was drunk as a skunk on a tubing trip when a popup storm hit and made the water crazy. My sister was afraid I was going to drown, but I was happily oblivious. I didn't realize how drunk I was til I tried to stand up at the end unsuccessfully. Those rum balls hit HARD. I also vomited on the side of the road on the way to the after-party. It was a day. I also survived placenta accreta. I was awake for all the procedures, and I definitely almost died. How about you? What was your close call? Did you survive by chance, know-how, or medical interventions? Be safe this week!
Almost got killed in a landslide about 8 years ago. Ran along a hiking trail on a ridge as the ridge was collapsing behind us. Terrifying. The only other close call I had was getting swept out from a shoreline by a very strong rip current. If I wasn't a fairy strong swimmer and didn't know how to swim against a current, I would have drowned.
Ooooh man, that reminds me. I had an ocean close call while a friend was visiting when I lived in Hawaii. We went to North Shore to swim and snorkel in a cove, I think it was called Turtle Bay. The mouth of the cove had buoys in a line to indicate open ocean passed this point. I somehow ended up in open ocean and the buoys were a good 30' or more away. I don't know if it was a current that pulled me away or what, but I definitely saved myself by focusing on staying calm and swimming sideways. I am not a strong swimmer by any means but I knew not to fight the current. I eventually made it back. My friend was clueless and had no idea any of this was happening. I have no concept of how long it took to get back but it wasn't quick.
I’ve posted before about being stalked by a polar bear. That has to be the closest call I’ve had. A close second might be an incident I was too young to remember. When I was around 3, my mother left me unsupervised outside in the summer heat. I was playing in the asphalt “yard” behind our apartment building. When she finally checked on me I was suffering from heat stroke. Bad enough that they had to immediately throw me in a bath with cold water and as much ice as they could find. Once my temperature dropped they took me to a doctor. The only time you went to the emergency room in the 1960s was if the ambulance brought you there.