DROWNING, VIETNAM WAR, EXPLOSION, ELECTROCUTION

Today I continue to reflect on past "events" that could have changed the entire direction of my life.  “Life can only be understood backwards" 

DROWNING - Early in the 1950's our family was leaving church in Findlay, Ohio when my dad announced that we were going to Riverside Park for a picnic. It didn't matter to him that we were dressed in our Sunday best, he in his favorite suit.  My dad loved surprises and earlier that morning he had fixed a picnic basket; even packed a fishing rod for me!

After our picnic my dad put bread on my fishing hook and sat me down at the edge of the Blanchard River. Since there was a six foot drop from the bank to the water, he told me not to get close and then took my Mom and sister for a walk up the river.  What happens when a dad tells a kid not to get close to the bank's edge?   As soon as they were out of sight I recall playing a game called, "How close can I get without falling into the water?".  

I got too close - and can vividly recall trying to grab a grass clump on my way down to the water.  I fell face down completely tangled in my fish line. I couldn't swim, and the water was deep. Fortunately my family had not gone far and it was just minutes after I fell that my dad saw I was not where he left me. Panicked, he and his favorite suit jumped into the water. I had stopped breathing, but as he was carrying me up the bank I started coughing up water. 

Had my family been any longer on their walk this "event" could have ended my life almost before it got started.  And even though I was very young back then, I had a sense that God was engaged in my life.  Jeremiah 29:11 says "I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for."  (the Message)

VIETNAM - My pre-induction physical could be described as nothing less than bizarre.  It was 1965 and every friend I knew dreaded the draft, since if you passed the physical you were transported off to war.  The horror stories of the war kept most of my eighteen-year-old friends awake at night.  Literally.  So for the eight hours before my pre-induction physical, I slept with bars of soap under my arms.  My friends told me this would elevate your blood pressure, which would get you a 4F rating - a sure way to keep you out of Vietnam. 

The physical started by having our group of guys (about 30) stand in a circle.  We were then told to take off our clothes.  Everything.  As the Army doctor came to each guy in the circle he would bark "attention" and proceed to check for hernias. (I'll spare you details)  Anyway, I passed this and other tests; that is, until we got to the vision test.  I had forgotten about my lazy eye and had no idea that it would end up being my ticket to 4F.  A lazy eye is a beautiful thing. 

Gary, a friend of mine, had TB when he was young, and although he passed the pre-induction physical, his previous condition showed up in his records.  When they told him he gave me a high five, since we were now both 4F buddies.  Gary's panic about this whole war thing was worse than most, so when he flunked the physical, he decided to party like never before. 

I heard the next day that he partied that night until he was plastered, and when he attempted to navigate the curve where route 83 turns south near Harrisburg, he and his car ended up on the concrete retaining wall and he was instantly killed.  Ironic that he was celebrating not having to risk his life in Vietnam.  

I knew a number of friends who went to Vietnam and never came back alive.  War is an ugly thing.

EXPLOSION - My first job after high school was at Aeroseal, a company that produced pressurized products in a can, primarily for the auto industry.  It was assembly line work and I was one of about eight guys putting stems and lids in cans before they were automatically crimped and pressurized. We worked long hours and often would move the cans down the assembly line to the beat of Motown songs.  One of my favorites was "My Girl" by the Four Tops. One of us would sing the verse, and all the guys would join in for the chorus. 

As we were singing "I got sunshine on a cloudy day and when it's cold outside I even got the month of May" a can being filled with chemicals jammed under the crimper.  I ran to the machine and just as my face was next to the can it exploded.  The combination of chemicals and pressure burned my eyes and things immediately went dark.  I was taken to the Holy Spirit Hospital where they said I came dangerously close to permanently losing my sight in both eyes.  My sight came back about two hours after the accident. 

ELECTROCUTION - Late one spring it was time to get the pool ready.  After removing the cover we saw that the water was a nice shade of hunter green.  On this year we decided to drain the pool and fill it with clean water.  After we got the pool drained there was some water left in the bottom of the pool, so I grabbed my electric drill and a pump.  Not sure what I was thinking, but I was in bare feet, standing in water, electric drill in hand.  I pushed the button that keeps the drill running when the drill slipped out of my hand and wrapped itself around the extension cord, stripping off insulation as it headed for the bottom of the pool.  For some reason the drill stopped just inches above the water, at which time I donated some personal water to the pool.