One summer, when I was really young, like 14 or so, I went to camp, I only got to camp for a few hours. I set my tent up, and was dragging that heavy thing they call a backpack in when i got bit by a rattler that decided it wanted my sleeping bag more than me.
I screamed and yelled and used words I was not supposed to use at that age. So I grabbed that rattler and broke it scrawny neck. Then after screaming for what felt like hours, a camp counselor came over to see what the fuss was all about. He almost lost it when he saw the size of the rattle snake and just stood there staring at the snake.
I had to yell at him to get my snake bite kit out of my packs top left hand zipper pocket. Since he had taken so long I made the razor cuts a couple inches above the bite and then started the suction cup action, he almost fainted, it was the first time I ever saw someone go white like a ghost, it was funny, it hurt like hell, but watching him turn white was so funny.
Great stuff here and I pity that poor camp counselor, as he will remember that incident for life lol.
Some years ago a neighbor complained about her leaking roof, so I went over to have a look. There was an old rickety ladder that her husband made when he was still alive and I figured that with luck, it could carry my weight.
No luck as about three quarters up, the ladder snapped. She screamed and a small crowd gathered to inquisitively inspect the commotion.
As the ladder snapped I grabbed at an open window and put my forearm through one of the solid window panes resulting in a 50mm cut that sprayed blood everywhere, but thankfully I landed safely.
So I asked the lady for a needle and some thread and as I started to stitch the cut the lady ran screaming into her house and the crowd disappeared like mist before the sun lol.
That scar still smiles at me every day 🙂
People do sometimes have funny reactions to things, especially when the person it happened to treats it as just another day thing. I think that is the best way to treat tragedies that happen to us, we just have to be willing to not lose it ourselves because most people around do lose it.
!ENGAGE 20
So true, cool and calm always works for me.
Two guys robbed me outside our place in the street and one shoved a .38 revolver into my neck. Had he wanted to kill me he would have squeezed the trigger, but he didn't.
Now I am no hero, so they took my phone and my ID book and as they turned and walked away I told them that I would pray for them.
The one guy came back and he gave me my ID book back.
A few weeks later they were both killed in a shoot out with the cops at another robbery!
Such is life my friend and take care of yourself!
Thank you for the kind token!
ENGAGEtokens.Thank you kindly @bashadow
Well, not funny, but funny you know? Getting snake-bit would not be fun but later, thinking about that useless came guy came over and nearly fainted...Seems like the HR department buggered up the recruitment process!
A good thing you knew what to do.
I've never been bitten surprisingly considering that I'm in the wilderness all the time. Had many encounters though...None pleasant. I'm not into snakes.
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.Good you had something to laugh about and forget about the pain for a while 😄
I have images of a kid laughing maniacally at the camp counsellor's reaction and the counsellor's expression becoming more quizzical because of the kids strange behaviour. The snake bite, must be the snake bite! Lol.
Yes, it is much better to look back on the funny parts verse the pain and hurt parts.
I got broken a few times, particularly when I was young. I had one time I marched into the doctor's office and his nurse came out to check my injury. I had a compress on it (it's when I lost my eye) and she said she had to look. I told her it wasn't a good idea but she insisted. I pulled the compress and she fainted dead away. The doctor ran out and asked if I could wait a couple minutes. I said yes and he got her up before he took me back to an office...
I grew up in Rattlesnake country and carried a snake bite kit all the time. But I never got bit. You must be one tough SOB to direct your counselor at age 14. My hat's off to you.
We were a camping family and familiar with the snakes. Some where long the line of life I lost my rattle from it. I think it is part of the reason I have such a sore right shoulder after all these years, a week of a high sling arm was not fun.
Well, that's a distinct possibility for the shoulder pain.
I know exactly why my right shoulder is bunk. I played baseball until I was 40 and I have at least one million hard throws in that shoulder. It SHOULD hurt :)
I bet the camp counselor tells the story like they were some feccin hero when in fact they were useless. Man, thats my worst nightmare a snake in my sleeping bag. I'd never go cmping again
Most rattlers only bite when they are scared but the results back then really sucked, having your arm slinged with the wrist above the heart for what seemed like forever was a real pain.
yeah man I bet. Did you ever get back into a sleeping bag ever again?
You would think camp Councillors would be trained for this sort of scenario, simple enough but watching whim turn ghostly must have been pretty funny!
It was and most camp counselors at summer camps are not very old, 18-21 years of age back then.
I guess that explains it, still tho, can't leave it up to a kid to tend his own venomous snake bit.