[–] cstrawfield 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
Found myself riding shotgun in a speeding '76 Lincoln Continental during a high-speed chase through downtown Wilmington, NC, giant green hood pitching and yawing through the night like the bow of a sea-tossed ship. Out the back I watched a second cop car move in behind the one behind us. Then another. Then another. Within minutes there was a train of them, blue and red-flashing kite tail in whipping wind.
We were done for, clearly, but some kind of ancient mid-brain structure short-circuits rational decision-making. You're an antelope escaping lions. And we were all probably undiagnosed oppositional defiant disorder cases. Jailbird Chuck, in the backseat with his girlfriend, hollered, "Go, TJ! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!"
Breathing burnt oil, tires, brakes as we peeled onto sideroads and slid around corners, hopped curbs, bounced hard over a concrete island -- ludicrous attempts to shake off tails of this tremendous car with trampoline suspension -- it handled like a swimming pool on wheels.
We didn't know the town, and TJ made a bad turn -- wrong way up a one-way two-lane. That was it for me -- it had to end before we killed someone. I hollered, "TJ, stop! Pull over! Pull over!" TJ was a brilliant guy, but a lost soul like the rest of us. Unlike us, though, he was fearless, and no doubt he would've driven that giant car right on into whatever fiery end. But for some reason he'd listen to me. He braked hard and managed to heave the old Lincoln over into a closed service station. A screaming cop car slid in behind us. Then another, another, another, forming a semi-circle to hem us in against the station's brick facade. Then out came the cops, screaming profanities, beaming lights, training pistols on us. This was the early 90's, and Wilmington at the time had become a significant drug-trafficking hub -- no doubt the police took us for part of that scene.
Two cops came forward, two-handing pistols at me and TJ from the left and right rear of the car. Instructions were screamed:
STARBOARD COP: PUT YOUR HANDS OUT THE WINDOW WHERE I CAN SEE 'EM!
PORTSIDE COP: DRIVER, TURN OFF YOUR VEHICLE!
(TJ reaches in for the ignition)
SC: (Hysterically) GET YOUR HANDS OUT WHERE I CAN SEE 'EM!
(TJ puts hand back out the window)
PC: DRIVER! I SAID TURN OFF YOUR VEHICLE!
(TJ reaches in again)
SC: (More hysterically -- really screaming) I SAID GET YOUR HANDS OUT WHERE I CAN SEE 'EM!
PC: DRIVER, TURN OFF YOUR CAR!
I looked back at a constellation of gun-barrels training on us, angry, adrenaline-addled, cop fingers curled tensely over triggers. One wrong move and every gun would've unloaded on us. A miracle we hadn't been shot yet. I told TJ to keep his hands out the window and started talking at the guns and lights.
Smash cut to TJ being chained face-down on the concrete floor of the police locker room, an ankle and a wrist manacled to facing banks of lockers. He'd spend the rest of that night like that. In the mandatory pre-processing interview, he'd taken care to answer all the questions wrong.
INTERVIEWER: Do you plan on harming yourself in our jail tonight?
TJ: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: Do you plan on harming anyone else?
TJ: Yes.
Etc.
If you ever get taken downtown (and I hope you never do), don't answer that way.
TL;DR: Chased by cops, pinned down by furious pistol-wielding pursuers who may've been baiting us into behavior warranting deadly force. Should've been killed. Got lucky.
[–] cstrawfield 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Why thanks! Those were some crazy times -- some of the memories make for pretty good stories. I'm going to keep an eye out for opportunities to post another story or two.
[–] cstrawfield ago
Just the one night in jail. The driver got in some pretty serious trouble, but thanks to a good lawyer he managed to avoid doing time.
[–] reed 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
One of many artillery attacks I went through during my first deployment.
One night, me and a buddy were tossing a bunch of shit over the side and out the back of our platoon's deuce and a half, into the burn pit at FOB Sykes, which was positioned right on the perimeter of the base. In the middle of this, we both heard a pop pop pop from off in the distance, outside the wire. We both stopped what we were doing immediately and stared at each other for a second with an oh shit look on our faces. Then the rounds landed BOOM BOOM BOOM in the opposite direction from where we heard the pops just aa few seconds prior. The rounds were literally flying directly over our heads before landing inside the base. We tossed the rest of the shit over, jumped in the cab, and hauled fucking ass out of there. Wasn't easy to do though because the area around the burn pit was all ash mixed with that moon dust Iraqi sand bullshit, and a deuce and a half is a big fucking truck that also had the water buffalo hitched on the back. VROOM VROOM VROOM, BOOM BOOM BOOM.
I mean, we got hit with that shit nearly every day, for literally months on end, but that was one of the times where I was like holy shit I might fucking die out here. Mainly I think because we were caught pretty much out in the open, by ourselves.
There were also the myriad of convoys and shit, especially the one were the serials in front of and behind ours both got hit with IEDs, but whatever.
[–] airbreather02 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
Years ago I used to work as a delivery driver. I drove a full sized van delivering auto parts. One morning I was on my usual route, I'm on the inside lane of a four lane road. A car coming very fast in the other direction did a fast lane change, lost control and hit me head on. Both vehicles were totalled, the driver of the other car went through the windshield (no seatbelt). He lived and was convicted of dangerous driving, was an 18 year old playing rally racer with his dad's car. I had cuts, bruises, whiplash etc. The seatbelt saved my life. The police estimated an 85 mph combined speed of impact.
I also used to work as a faller (cutting down trees). I was working cutting down a bunch of trees. There was a hinged fir snag (a dead tree, with the trunk broken but still attached part way up) in the opening I was knocking down these other trees. You always have an escape route, which is opposite the tree's direction of fall and away at an angle in case the trunk comes straight back. When I started to fall the snag it fell 180 degrees the opposite way I intended it to fall. I dropped my saw and ran in the direction of my intended escape route. As the snag was fall the rest of the trunk broke free of the hinge and came down and hit me in the back of the head and neck.
I didn't know where I was for 10-15 minutes. I drove myself about 25 miles back to town to the hospital. The local doctor and x-ray tech at the hospital (in my small town) said it was just "soft tissue" injury. Two weeks later I got a letter in the mail to go the medical clinic to discuss the results of my x-rays, that were sent to the specialist in the meantime. It turned out my neck (C6) was broken in two places. So I was literally walking around with a broken neck for two weeks without knowing it. I actually went back to work the next day after this tree had fallen on me even though I could barely move my neck. Pretty stupid (and lucky) in hindsight.
[–] airbreather02 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
You are so right, I am very fortunate. It's a reminder of how precious life is, and how can it can be over in a second.
[–] Samyaza 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
On mobile so sorry for the format. I got 3 stories. The first one is one my parents tell me. When I was 2 I would try to eat random thing. Well I decided to eat change, for what reason I don't know, but a couple of quarters turned sideways and blocked my air passage. My mom found me unresponsive and started to give me CPR as my dad called the ambulance. I regained consciousness in the ambulance. No idea if I stopped breathing or not. Second time was because of a good allergy I randomly developed. I had been a sickly child allergic the practically everything. But after years of allergy shots I was able to be a normal kid. Well one day me and my family were out eating at a seafood restaurant. I ordered my favorite food which was shellfish, shrimp to be exact. Turns out I randomly developed a shrimp and my throat closed up rather quickly. I passed out a woke up in the hospital. Apparently I stopped breathing for a little bit. Last story. I was in the back of a friends car cruising around at night down some back country roads. We had been getting high and decided it would be nice. Well a deer ran in front of the car. My friend swerved to miss it and as he did so his axle broke. We ended up rolling a good distance a d down a hill into a field. We were beaten and bruised but could still walk around. We looked at where we landed and if we had gone a for more we would have landed on some thick metal posts. Fun times.
[–] Wowbagger 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
I was crossing a 4 lane street with the pedestrian light and some college kid ran a red light going around 60. He was so far away when I'd looked to the right that I foolishly didn't look again when I got to the middle. I was on the far side of the 3rd lane when I heard the brakes screeching. I looked up just in time to see him fish tailing. He actually drifted around me to my left and I was staring in at four terrified kids staring back at me. His tires found traction again just as he passed me and off they went without bothering to stop and make sure I was okay. Fuck that guy. To this day I hope he feels pretty awful and drives more conscientiously.
Other close calls: Deathly allergic to mango. Tried a tea listed as having blood orange.
Deathly allergic to cashews. Ten years ago, Entenmann's added cashews to their crumb cake without advertising that they'd changed the ingredients. Wrote them a complaint. They sent me a generic letter "thank you for your interest in our product". Included in the envelope were two coupons for $1 off crumb cake.
Hit by a driver who didn't look for pedestrians while making a protected left. I did have the pedestrian light and I did look but she'd zoomed up to beat the yellow. That was one year ago yesterday, actually. I was crossing to my favorite gyro place at the time so I celebrated yesterday by having gyros for dinner.
[–] verificationist 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
I've never been too close to death. But I was once robbed in broad daylight in a street full of people. The robber was quite intimidating and unsettling, especially because he seemed not to care if he had to stab me in front of everyone. He was also extremely psychologically perceptive, in the uncanny sort of way.
[–] Qikdraw 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
I was 12 years old, on the operating table to straighten my spine that had a 115 degree curve. During the first operation I apparently had "breathing problems". But my parents said the doctor was white as a sheet when he came out. I'm guessing I did stop breathing entirely. The second operation that was scheduled for later on that week was delayed another week as they were worried I would not survive the second one. But I was healing very quickly from the first one and ended up doing a lot better than they thought.
Almost drowned a couple of times. At least once from my brother, who dragged me into the deep end and let me go when I was 8. To this day (i'm 44) I still cannot get water in my face. I cannot face the water in a shower. A facecloth over my face. Even my wife's hair brushing over my face when she is on top of me. All has my body immediately in panic mode and since I shower every day, I have to fight back the panic every fucking day. Which really sucks. Thanks brother. Asshole.
[–] Reow [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
The real trauma of these events is the panic/anxiety you talk about. After I almost drowned in the ocean, I barely swam in it again for years. I was fine with pools etc. (controlled bodies of water; it didn't matter how deep), but couldn't stand oceans/rivers/lakes where I couldn't see the bottom. In the end I beat it by taking up scuba diving - once I was comfortable having explored the area underwater, the fear went away. Obviously not the same fear in your case, but there may be ways to take back control.
[–] Qikdraw 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I have always wanted to try scuba diving, specially now they have full face masks (so my nose isn't covered). I used to love swimming, even though I stayed in the shallow end as I could not swim well, currently I have to nerve myself to get into a pool, or the ocean. Thank you for your response!