I saved my girlfriends life today...

[Jersey]

Yeah, you read right. I did. For several hours I actually didn't know I did, but I found out later. Here's how.

My girlfriend and I have a system where we message each other whenever we get home after leaving each other's company. Like if I hung out with her that day and left, I would send her a text message letting her know I had made it home safe. Now that you guys understand that, here is what happened.

I hung out with her today, and after I was to leave for the day she was going to go over her best friends house to work on a school project. Well I got home safely and sent her the text message that I had gotten home safely. After that I went about my business.

She called me later on to tell me I had saved her life. She told me that she had stopped at a red light, and right as it turned green, she got my message. She saw that there was nobody behind her, so she decided to check the message really fast before she proceeded. She checked the message, which took her about a second and a half. Right when she closed the phone after receiving my message, an enormous U-Haul truck barrelled right through the red light at about 65 miles per hour. If my girlfriend had not decided to take that second and read my message, that man running the light would have plowed straight into her. She easily could have been seriously hurt or killed.

It's amazing what can happen with the right timing...

[skier1]

Hmm, the right timing has saved my life twice so far. Both were driving incidents, though I was the driver in only one of them. I've probably avoided serious injury many more times, but those are the two that stick out in my mind as potentially fatal.

The first time, I was a passenger, and a car plowed into us when we were going through an intersection. We had the green light, but that didn't stop this dude from going 30 through the red. If my mom hadn't stepped on the accelerator to get a bit further out of the way, I can say with certainty that I would be dead.

The other time, I fell asleep driving on the highway after a long weekend. I woke up about ten seconds later going sideways along a 45 degree slope at 60 miles per hour, flying over boulders. If I had hit a boulder wrong, the car would have flipped back into traffic, and I would be dead. If I had instinctively swerved upon waking up, I would probably have gone headfirst into oncoming traffic, and caused a couple fatalities as well as killing myself. I somehow managed to avoid everything and pull the car to a stop unscathed. I couldn't sleep for around two days afterwards, and now am scared shltless of driving tired. My mother is now convinced that I'm here to serve some Higher Purpose, though I just attribute it to incredible luck.

I have yet to save someone else's life. It's not exactly something you can plan on doing.

[Phil]

That's miraculous. The timing happens when it does. Some people think it's ramdom chance being in your favor, I believe in miracles and that was 1.

[Classicblast]

I agree. Whenever something like this happens I believe those moments choose us more than we choose that moment.

[hitler]

I myself have stopped many an accident. One time was when I had just noticed a car I was about to get into had the seal to the fuel tank open. Upon instinct I closed the fuel tank's seal

[Vanilla Ice]

Yes, that surely would have resulted in an accident had you not intervened.

[Kevin]

The person could have been like:

"OMG MY GAS LID IS TEH OPEN I GOTSA CLOSE IT11111ONEONEONN"

And then they would jump out of their car on the highway so they could close it.

I've almost died a couple times. You really don't grasp it until after the adrenaline dies down.

One of them was a couple years ago. Myself and a bunch of my friends were hanging out and it was about 1 in the morning. We decided to go toilet paper someone's house, and about seven people decided to go. We only took one car though, which could only fit five. So what did we do? Put two people in the trunk. So there we were: five people in the car, two in the trunk, driving to Meijer at 1 in the morning to pick up 96 rolls of toilet paper.

We headed to the girl's house and got the job done. Oh boy... we got her good. GOOD. So we were driving back and all of a sudden a really thick fog set in. We were driving down a road that crossed a busy road. My friend, who was driving, said "I think that stop sign should be coming soon." About that time, we flew by it. We went across the road, which thankfully no car was on at the time, and across the road it dips down as it goes down a hill. We got about a foot in the air and landed hard. Thankfully the car was still working and we kept driving.

None of us were wearing seatbelts, so we all went up in the air when the car jumped. One of the guys in the turnk hit his head, so we stopped in the middle of the road, got him out of the trunk, and saw how he was doing. He seemd pretty out of it, so someone else went into the trunk and we went back to where we originally were.

When I look back, it was really stupid. We all could have died had there been a car at that intersection, as we were going at about 65 and the road we crossed had a speed limit of 55. We were all just kinda shocked after that.

Anyways, that's my near death experience. There have been others, like falling nodding off driving and such, but that was probably my best story.

[Classicblast]

That was quite a story.

And it's easy to lose sight of our own mortality.

Believe it or not I am under contract that I can not ride in a private air plane without the written consent of my general manager. While the players union blocks teams from forbidding the use of motorcycles they're not encouraged. (I don't own one anyway)

Ben Roethlisberger is an example of just thinking nothing bad will happen. A situation like the people in the trunk and not seeing the stop sign. When I was fifteen I was riding in the bed of my brother's pick up and I wasn't seated as well as I should have been and I nearly toppled over the side but I clutched the rollbar and managed to stick my feet under the ridge of the wall and hold myself in.

Perhaps the drama isn't as well defined as in Stalin's story but it was very scary.

[hitler]

that reminds me of a accident my pal had...
my pals ware driving in the high way and one of my pals was leaning on the door.
he accidentally opens the door and is pulled out of the car, he quickly grabs the door,
as my other pals were swerving in speeding traffic while trying to pull him in.
so that means 1st pal, driving car/ 2nd pal, hanging out of door/ 3rd pal, holding me/Me, trying to pull 2nd pal inside
we pulled him in, stopped at the nearest junction and nobody got hurt.

[Phil]

blitz said:

I myself have stopped many an accident. One time was when I had just noticed a car I was about to get into had the seal to the fuel tank open. Upon instinct I closed the fuel tank's seal

Its definately a good idea to close that. I can't believe how many people just forget when they fill their gas tanks. Every once in a while you see someone driving around with the door open and the cap hanging down.

[hitler]

that reminds me
Sebastian Lebecque: After filling up the gas tank of his motorcycle, Sebastian drives off without realizing that he has forgotten the gas tank's cover. As he takes one last drag from his cigarette, he tosses the burning butt to the road. The still-ignited butt lands in his exposed gas-tank, igniting the gas, and blowing up the motorbike, killing Sebastian.

Clues/ Notes: As Sebastian is paying for his gas, he reads a sign in the store that says: “Explosive Summer Sale-50% Off!”

As he is purchasing his gas, the heater at his feet begins malfunctioning and almost ignites his gasoline-soaked boots.

Before taking off from the gas station, Sebastian has an encounter with the homeless man, who warns him that he forgot something (not telling him its the fuel cap). As Sebastian pulls away, the man holds the fuel cap against a light, saying "Moon there, moon gone." He then watches Sebastian drive away. "Man there, man... gone?"

[Mahnarch]

Holy resurrected thread, batman!

And, Hitler.....what?
That had better be some sort of historical literary story, or else

***

Anyway. I grew up in the Fire Department. My grandfather on my dad's side was the Captain of the Muskegon FD for 35 years - in the biz for 50 years - and, eventually, Arson Investigator.
My dad was volunteer (10 years) and so was my uncle (8 years).

My great-grandfather on my mom's side was the Fire Chief of Ludington FD for over 40 years In the biz for 61 years.

Fire trucks and ambulances were like normal vehicles, to me - though it WAS cool that I got to ride to elementary school in 'Big Red' once in a while.

Any some such, I've known fire and rescue like the back of my hand since I can remember. My family intergrated it into my regular learning, though my grandpa forbade me from becoming certified, myself. (He's been gone for a couple of years, but I still respect his wish.)

Mom: "What's two plus two?"
Grandpa: "Check my pulse."
Dad: "Turn the hydrant ALL the way on."

***

My first 'saving' was when I was 8.
I was hanging out at a friends house when we heard a splash in the neighbors yard.
We ran next door to see if the pool was available for rumpusing in and found a four year old neighborhood kid, face first, in the kiddie pool - not moving.
I pulled him out by his feet, layed him face down and did 'backside CPR' (face down, compressing the back) until he chocked up the water in his lungs.
He came back, got up and hung out with us for a while.
(when you're around training and such like that, you don't really think much about it. He was O.K., so we just kept playing. I still don't think his parents know about it.)

The second time, I was 14(?).
My mom's friend just had a baby and had spent the weekend at our house while my dad and her husband went hunting (deer camp widows).
I woke up at about 5am to the sound of weak struggling/panting and got up to investigate/go to the bathroom.
I found the infant stuck between the couch cushions in the living room (early 90s, hardcore times) with her head cranked over, too far to breath, and blue.
I gently pulled her out and layed her on a blanket on the floor, massaging her chest and stomach.
The color returned as she started crying, waking her mother.
I still get money in my birthday cards from her.

When I was about 10, or so, I was hanging out with my grandpa at the fire house when the tones went off.
Gramps said, "Get in!", so I jumped in the pumper truck with him and off we went.

Single family ranch, fully engulfed.
Gramps pulls up to the end of the driveway and starts reeling out the hoses.
I grab one end of a hose and a wrench from the truck and head for the hydrant.

After hooking up and turning on the main valve I hang by the hydrant, keeping out of the way of the volunteers that are showing up when a Sherriff shows up out of nowhere and grabs me by the arm.
"Come on kid. You can't be here.", he says.
My grandfather, who was still maning the pumper rig turns and yells, "YOU GET YOUR F*CKING HANDS OFF HIM! GET DOWN THERE AND SHUT THIS ROAD OFF!!
Sherriff: "Yes, sir."

I love my grandpa.

I've got too many of these to share but, I'll stop here.

[Demona]

Couple of stories here....

I knew a guy who said he'd been at someone's house visiting, and was ready to leave when something told him to wait about 20 minutes. He leaves eventually and comes to an intersection where there was a horrible accident. Can't remember if anyone died but it's weird how things happen and you get the feeling something ain't right.

Just like when I was brand new to a trade school I was at in winter of 04, I come back after dinner and we see the cafeteria lit up with people in it, thinking dinner could have been late, it wasn't a big deal, till I heard from people walking around by the door that there'd been a car crash killing 3 students from the place. My roommate said she'd also gotten a feeling somebody had died around the time it happened on a country road that night. I'd gone to the cafeteria and saw that one of the guys listed as being in the accident but not dead was a friend of ours, and I come back and tell her and we both run down there. Needless to say the next day was an upsetting one for quite a few and classes were cancelled and a memorial thing of sorts was held. Strangely enough that wasn't the only death I'd come to know about during my stay there.

[Blastgirl]

There's intuition that has helped people avoid tragic happenings. It could be instinctive and some people think there is Divine intervention.

Others would say if so why didn't the other people receive Divine intervention? But when there's a hunch with no basis to it I for one have to wonder how that happens that way.

[Mahnarch]

Demona, did you go to the CTC on Port Sheldon?
I think I remember something about this a few years back.

I would think that the answer to 'why didn't the person involved get it'?
It was their time.

'Death' only knocks once....and he doesn't want to chase you down.

[Demona]

I went to CTC but I'm talking about a different place.

[Mahnarch]

Nice.

Think about it: You and I have never met in real life, but we've walked on the same floor at different times.

Kinda cool, eh?

You probably stepped in my spit, once or twice.
lol.

I used to enter through the front and hang a right, past the cafeteria and then a left, down to automotive.

Where did you go?

[Demona]

Well, when I was in High School I went there in 02-04 and was in Ad Design and Printing the next year, so that was all during the day. I know some of the classes had something where non High School students could attend at night, but didn't know you'd been there. Weird how we never actually met yet offline.