The last post was a somber one. Today is my second birthday. Not second as in I am two, second as in it is the date of my second life. If you need further explanation refer to the other post on this day.
Any-hoo, since we last met I went on an extended vacation. And NO. I didn't get put in the clink, slammer or out to pasture. I went on a lovely vacation with my wife, kids and in-laws. A few days on the beach. Some golf. And what seemed like a lifetime at Disney. It only seemed like a lifetime because we were trying to get the most we could in our time there. It had NOTHING (and I'm serious here) to do with the company. Sure we had our differences and some of us (me) needed to cool off more than others, but once we got into the swing of things everything went rather smoothly.
Moving on....
If you have a chance to go to Tybee Island Georgia (aka Savannah) Go! Don't hesitate. Sure its a beach. Sure its crowded. But it is as close to paradise as Hawaii. Moral of this story is if you can't make it to Tybee, go to Hawaii. (Good luck with that. Let me know how it works out for you.)
Disney is great. If you have kids. But I had fun too. I would have liked to gotten all dolled up in the Bibbity Bobbity Glitter-fest but I guess they frown upon grown men getting all make-uped and putting on a dress and following around a princess all day. What do they know?! They could make a bunch of more money if they changed just a little....
The real travesty is the fact that there is no alcohol in Magic Kingdom; the flagship of Disney World Florida. Epcot you can drink around the world. Hollywood Studios. C'mon. Hollywood without any mind numbing substances would be Branson, MI. (I apologize for any and all of my Branson followers. I have never been your lovely city. I am just trying to make a humorous point.) Even Animal Kingdom allows alcohol. What could possibly go wrong with a drunken patron and live animals, right? But not in Magic Kingdom. I guess they are hedging their bets that the dads would get all boozed up while their kids are getting doused with more glitter than the end of the year parade at P-Town and end up hitting on the princesses. Or Minnie Mouse. Hey, some guys like that. Not me. I'm just saying I've heard some guys have a thing for a girl mouse. Whatever blows up your skirt, I guess.
Long story longer, the vacation was good. The last day we celebrated an 80th birthday of a grandfather-in-law with his seven (yes I said seven, as in one more than six and one less than eight) kids. Now I don't feel so bad with just two angels. Happy birthday Poppy Hoss!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Its July 9th. What do you remember about today?
So here is a non fiction story. The setting is 19 years ago, today. In an old mill town in southern New England. This is how it happend, or so I am told....
A young boy was swimming in the family pool when a storm rolled through town like a two-bit carnival cutting short the refreshing swim. Thunder. Lightening. Rain. Normal early summer storm; nothing too spectacular. Just as the carnival rolled into town, it was gone. But unlike most suspect carnivals, this one didn't leave that much of an impact.
20 or so minutes after the much-a-do-about-nothing storm some neighbors decide to pass the time with a friendly soccer "kick-around" in the spacious front yard while dad shoots baskets in the driveway across the street, enjoying the summer afternoon.
Then it happened. As with perfect timing only a cheetah can match, a bolt of lightning came crashing down. It may have hit a large oak tree. It may have hit a whiskey barrel planter. It may have hit the 14 year old boy running after a soccer ball. Yes all of those scenarios are viable. But it doesn't matter who or what was the direct hit. The tree showed no signs of distress. The planter's metal bands were smoking. The boy, however, was on his way to a nice six foot flight across the yard. (Six feet doesn't seem like a "flight" per se, but six up and six over in the opposite direction he was running is some feat.) One other soccer player is down. Another is down and back up.
Basketball dad comes running, feet barely hitting the ground. His attention going towards the down soccer player but changes his direction when they rise. His attention is now focused on the lone child not moving; his son. When he turns his son over he sees the color fading from his face. Immediately calls are out to 911 and soon the dispatcher is relaying CPR instructions. Soon bystanders come to relieve the father of a duty that no father should ever have to do. A neighbor's daughter. An off duty Police Sergeant. Soon the paramedics arrive. Clothes are cut and torn exposing a burn from feet straight up to and around the neck and back to and around the waist with the most perfect bow at the belly.
The young boy is put into the ambulance and whisked across town the the hospital. All the major intersections were closed for this one young life. At the hospital he was flown to a bigger hospital, who were more equipped for such an emergency. The twelve or so minute flight must have seemed like an eternity to the boys mother as he was shocked back into a stable rhythm more than a few times.
Once stable, the child is admitted into the ICU and put on breathing machines and all the necessary monitoring devices. The parents, aunts, uncles and just about everyone close to the boy had a very long and tiring night ahead.
A 24 hour coma later the nurses were alerted to the boy's machines alarms. DId he stop breathing? Was there another complication? What is going on?
It turns out this kid was a fighter. He pulled out the breathing tube. He pulled the monitor leads off. He was done with that. But what about his brain? Would he be brain damaged? Would he know his family? Would he know anything? Family and the doctors were thinking the same thing. But at least he is alive.
Doctors do their thing, examining him. Testing him. It turns out the burns were the path the electricity took through the boy's body. The burn around the neck was from a cheap necklace he had on, which may have turned the charge around and back to the wet ties in his swim trunks. But what about his mental state?
Sleep. Awake. "Do you know where you are?"
"No."
"You're in the hospital. Do you know why you are here?"
"No."
"You were struck by lightening."
"Cool."
That exchange went on for a few sleeps all the while watching "Ferris Beuler's Day Off" again and again and again. This is not what the parents were hoping for. Then one day the answers changed. He KNEW where he was and WHY he was there. The doctors were asking memory questions and he was getting them correct. He knew his family. His girlfriend. He could even count backwards from 100 by three's (no easy feat, even for the doctors).
All told a week in the hospital, a couple of take home heart monitors and a neuro-psych test later he is given a clean bill of health. So much so that he decides to take a 30 mile bike ride through the hills of northern Connecticut less than one month after the accident. And you thought he wouldn't be ok.
So there is the story of how I was struck by lightening. Some of the facts may not be 100% accurate, but I wasn't really there. Its just pieces of what I remember people telling me. To this day I have no recollection of July 5th through July 12 or 13. I'm just gonna chalk it up to being a kid.
A young boy was swimming in the family pool when a storm rolled through town like a two-bit carnival cutting short the refreshing swim. Thunder. Lightening. Rain. Normal early summer storm; nothing too spectacular. Just as the carnival rolled into town, it was gone. But unlike most suspect carnivals, this one didn't leave that much of an impact.
20 or so minutes after the much-a-do-about-nothing storm some neighbors decide to pass the time with a friendly soccer "kick-around" in the spacious front yard while dad shoots baskets in the driveway across the street, enjoying the summer afternoon.
Then it happened. As with perfect timing only a cheetah can match, a bolt of lightning came crashing down. It may have hit a large oak tree. It may have hit a whiskey barrel planter. It may have hit the 14 year old boy running after a soccer ball. Yes all of those scenarios are viable. But it doesn't matter who or what was the direct hit. The tree showed no signs of distress. The planter's metal bands were smoking. The boy, however, was on his way to a nice six foot flight across the yard. (Six feet doesn't seem like a "flight" per se, but six up and six over in the opposite direction he was running is some feat.) One other soccer player is down. Another is down and back up.
Basketball dad comes running, feet barely hitting the ground. His attention going towards the down soccer player but changes his direction when they rise. His attention is now focused on the lone child not moving; his son. When he turns his son over he sees the color fading from his face. Immediately calls are out to 911 and soon the dispatcher is relaying CPR instructions. Soon bystanders come to relieve the father of a duty that no father should ever have to do. A neighbor's daughter. An off duty Police Sergeant. Soon the paramedics arrive. Clothes are cut and torn exposing a burn from feet straight up to and around the neck and back to and around the waist with the most perfect bow at the belly.
The young boy is put into the ambulance and whisked across town the the hospital. All the major intersections were closed for this one young life. At the hospital he was flown to a bigger hospital, who were more equipped for such an emergency. The twelve or so minute flight must have seemed like an eternity to the boys mother as he was shocked back into a stable rhythm more than a few times.
Once stable, the child is admitted into the ICU and put on breathing machines and all the necessary monitoring devices. The parents, aunts, uncles and just about everyone close to the boy had a very long and tiring night ahead.
A 24 hour coma later the nurses were alerted to the boy's machines alarms. DId he stop breathing? Was there another complication? What is going on?
It turns out this kid was a fighter. He pulled out the breathing tube. He pulled the monitor leads off. He was done with that. But what about his brain? Would he be brain damaged? Would he know his family? Would he know anything? Family and the doctors were thinking the same thing. But at least he is alive.
Doctors do their thing, examining him. Testing him. It turns out the burns were the path the electricity took through the boy's body. The burn around the neck was from a cheap necklace he had on, which may have turned the charge around and back to the wet ties in his swim trunks. But what about his mental state?
Sleep. Awake. "Do you know where you are?"
"No."
"You're in the hospital. Do you know why you are here?"
"No."
"You were struck by lightening."
"Cool."
That exchange went on for a few sleeps all the while watching "Ferris Beuler's Day Off" again and again and again. This is not what the parents were hoping for. Then one day the answers changed. He KNEW where he was and WHY he was there. The doctors were asking memory questions and he was getting them correct. He knew his family. His girlfriend. He could even count backwards from 100 by three's (no easy feat, even for the doctors).
All told a week in the hospital, a couple of take home heart monitors and a neuro-psych test later he is given a clean bill of health. So much so that he decides to take a 30 mile bike ride through the hills of northern Connecticut less than one month after the accident. And you thought he wouldn't be ok.
So there is the story of how I was struck by lightening. Some of the facts may not be 100% accurate, but I wasn't really there. Its just pieces of what I remember people telling me. To this day I have no recollection of July 5th through July 12 or 13. I'm just gonna chalk it up to being a kid.
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