This is inspired by the most painful event thread, which reminded me of another childhood accident when I slipped and fell on my back and had the wind knocked out of me. I couldn't breathe for what seemed like minutes - I was probably 10 and it freaked me out so much, I'll never forget it.
Others?
heart surgery.
Walking down a trail in pitch black darkness. Fell off a ledge and thought I was a goner. Landed deep enough water about 15 feet down. Swam super fast in whatever direction I was facing. Found the shore/land and waited their in pitch darkness for about 7 hours until I could see.
being drowned
waking up next to the pool
details are hazy
but nothing scarier than dying
Narrowly escaped being beaten to a pulp by a random, hostile, angry man on a NY city subway. The seemingly normal guy at the outset sat right next to me and proceeded to place his hand on my leg and groped me. I took my pepper spray out of my purse and he freaked out. He started punching and kicking me on a packed subway car. Not one person offered to help me despite the fact my arms and legs were dripping blood. I realized I was either going to have to rely on the pepper spray or my speed. When the train stopped (which seemed like hours) I ran out of the car and outwitted the guy by pretending I was going to run up the stairs but instead I ran into an adjacent subway car the second before the doors closed. It wasn't the first or last time my fast legs saved me, literally. My legs may be long and spindly, but they're quick. Thank God.
That's f***ed up
Former NYer wrote:
Narrowly escaped being beaten to a pulp by a random, hostile, angry man on a NY city subway. The seemingly normal guy at the outset sat right next to me and proceeded to place his hand on my leg and groped me. I took my pepper spray out of my purse and he freaked out. He started punching and kicking me on a packed subway car. Not one person offered to help me despite the fact my arms and legs were dripping blood. I realized I was either going to have to rely on the pepper spray or my speed. When the train stopped (which seemed like hours) I ran out of the car and outwitted the guy by pretending I was going to run up the stairs but instead I ran into an adjacent subway car the second before the doors closed. It wasn't the first or last time my fast legs saved me, literally. My legs may be long and spindly, but they're quick. Thank God.
No one tried to stop him on a packed subway car? Wow.
meeeeeeeeeeeeeee wrote:
Walking down a trail in pitch black darkness. Fell off a ledge and thought I was a goner. Landed deep enough water about 15 feet down. Swam super fast in whatever direction I was facing. Found the shore/land and waited their in pitch darkness for about 7 hours until I could see.
Something similar happened to me.
I decided take a shortcut to get off the trail as quickly as I could. There was no trail; it was off trail. I didn't need to get very far, maybe 100 yards, to shortcut about 1/2 mile.
I reached a spot were tree branches covered everything in front of me. I started climbing on the branches to get through. I suddenly realized this section of terrain was not a slope, but under the branches there was nothing at all. The ground had disappeared. I carefully, and slowly, worked my way back, and took the normal, and longer trail back.
When I next went back on the trail, I checked out the shortcut. Well, the tree banches went over a very steep crevice that dropped more than 50 feet. The branches did not look as strong as I though they were.
I'm pretty sure if I had fallen that would have been the end of me. I also don't think anyone would have ever found my body.
Former NYer wrote:
Narrowly escaped being beaten to a pulp by a random, hostile, angry man on a NY city subway. The seemingly normal guy at the outset sat right next to me and proceeded to place his hand on my leg and groped me. I took my pepper spray out of my purse and he freaked out. He started punching and kicking me on a packed subway car. Not one person offered to help me despite the fact my arms and legs were dripping blood. I realized I was either going to have to rely on the pepper spray or my speed. When the train stopped (which seemed like hours) I ran out of the car and outwitted the guy by pretending I was going to run up the stairs but instead I ran into an adjacent subway car the second before the doors closed. It wasn't the first or last time my fast legs saved me, literally. My legs may be long and spindly, but they're quick. Thank God.
That's pretty amazing. It's a good thing you kept your wits about you.
Mine is from not long ago. I don't really remember a lot of truly scary instances in my life, but I'm from a pretty rural area, so mine has to do with a 2 hour bike ride. It was a pretty foggy, wet day, and I had to go through a half-mile long tunnel on a trail that used to be train tracks. My bike was equipped with a good light, but the tunnel was in the first 2 miles of the trip, so after leaving it on the entire time after I passed the tunnel the first time, I had to go back through it, and as with the nature of train tunnels, there is no going around, at least with a bike. When I got back, it was so foggy that I couldn't see the other side of the tunnel, and my light had burnt out. I was inching along the inside of the wet, muddy tunnel and I was so disoriented from the pich blackness that I kept running into the walls, when I could have sworn I was going straight. It took a long time before I was actually able to see the other side, and I was so afraid because I was surrounded by darkness. I have a couple scars on my hand from running into the side of the tunnel. I felt like I would never reach the other side.
Another instance was when I was about 10, and I had hallucinations at night of little people fighting on top of my stomach. Being that young, I was completely freaked out, as anyone would be when hallucinating. I was not under the influence of any drugs as I remember, so it remains a mystery as to why I had hallucinations.
Was that on Elroy-Sparta?
Taking off in a airplane in bad weather off the coast of Africa. We hit some very thick clouds and the plane started losing altitude. We were only at about 1,000 ft altitude so we didn't have a lot to lose before we hit the water. We eventually got through and gained altitude. I remember sitting there listening to the pilot thinking, "Shit, I'm about to die." Not a damn think I could do about it either.
Out running at my cottage, about 4 miles from home. Come around a corner, there are these two BIG, (80-100 lbs) dogs come at me looking very mean. No owners home, not tied up at all. I grabbed the nearest rock and slowly backed away. When I got around the corner and they couldn't see me anymore I took off like a bat out of hell. Probably ran the 4 miles home in WAY under PB pace at that point. (didn't think to time it)
I was reading a gun magazine one time, and they had a section on real stories of people using their guns in dangerous situations. These two guys were out camping in the wilderness by themselves. They go fishing, then come back to their campsite later in the day. When they get back, their stuff is trashed. Soon after, they hear vehicles pulling up. People start shooting at them, so they get down and start shooting back with their guns. The mysterious people drive away, and the campers get the heck out of there. Once they get back to civilization, they tell the police. The police investigate, and find out that the area the two guys were camping on was actually the site of drug "growing." The druggies had thought the campers were policeman searching, so they were trying to kill them.
I think if more urban gang members or former POWs visited this website, it would really spice up this thread.
1) Almost drowned at a wave pool
2) Got beat up by gang members in a bathroom before the start of a dual XC meet
3) Car nearly slid off an icy road over a sheer cliff, while my wife and buddy tried to guide the car back down the road straight.
4) Two diabetic reactions (low blood sugar levels in the 20s)where 911 had to be called; once by my wife and the 2nd by my teenage daughter. While it was happening was not scary, but after I regained my senses and realized how bad it could have been really frightened me.
Comrade Obamskii wrote:
what?? wrote:No one tried to stop him on a packed subway car? Wow.
Typical blue-state reaction I'm afraid. The onlookers on the subway car probably said to themselves, "I'm not a member of the Helping-people-being-violently-assaulted Union, not my problem."
Exactly. People stood around watching the whole incident unfold with their mouths agape, but did absolutely nothing to help me. To witness the herd mentality in practice is eye opening- it can really shake your faith in your fellow humans.
The ironic thing is that I held off on using my pepper spray out of concern that I might accidentally spray people around me. I had never used the pepper spray before and hence didn't know how far or wide the spray reached. I basically viewed it as a weapon of last resort. Dumb.
getting pulled over while intoxicated
cop let me go, i was in HS and about half a mile from my house. pretty sure he knew i had a couple drinks in me
Here's Quagmires
People are told "don't be a hero". That's why nobody ever helps when some crazy is chopping someone up on a bus.
grizzly man wrote:
Was that on Elroy-Sparta?
No, actually this was on the "Rails-to-Trails" in the Appalachian Mountains.