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The Scare of your Life (1 Viewer)

Steve_Tk

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Post your experiences where you were so scared that you hope you never are put in that situation again.

Mine would be giving CPR to a dead man. I was going Kayaking on the Chattooga river in North Georgia. This was going to be the first time I had ever gone down section 4, which is full of class 3-5 rapids. My friend and I were going with 2 experienced boaters on that section of the river. (None of these pictures are mine)

So we put in, and about 5 minutes down we stopped to scout Woodall Shoals. This rapid is infamous for killing people. My first thought when seeing it was "that can't be it". I was expecting very big water for a class 5 hole, it was only a 3 foot drop and looked more like a class 3. My first reaction was that it looked extremely deceptive. I had been down Bulls sluice (http://community.webshots.com/photo/186330/170593 and http://www.seasonsoflakeburton.com/pictures_10.htm and http://www.carolinacanoeclub.com/gallery/maurice.gif) many times and it was 3 times larger than this rapid. I had played in everything the Occoee had (http://community.webshots.com/photo/186336/314540 picture of Hell's Hole). I'd also been down 6-7 foot water falls (Second ledge http://community.webshots.com/photo/186330/261436 not my picture but that's the rapid, and http://www.carolinacanoeclub.com/gallery/mullis.jpg) and this rapid looked like a piece of cake. But knowing it's reputation I just happened to make a good decision and say that I wasn't trying it this time. Regardless of how easy it looks, I just didn't feel comfortable doing it, so I portaged around it. I couldn't find a picture of Woodall at normal water levels because it's so boring looking.

Well the guys that had done it before said they were going to ride it. I was there for the rescue line. I watched this guy ride right into it and not come out of the hole. My friend's first instinct was to paddle upstream to help him, but there's nothing you can do, the hole would pull you in. All we could see was his boat turning in circles in the hole. I threw the rescue line multiple times but it really didn't help. Sometimes you would see his boat come up and then disapear. We all started to freak out. After about two minutes he just popped out of the rapid upside down. We jumped in to help. Dragged him out and started CPR because he wasn't breathing. Within a minute he coughed up a couple gallons of water. Twenty minutes later the ambulance took him to the hospital. The CPR wasn't the scary part, it was just sitting there helpless for 2 minutes watching someone die.

Let's just say I didn't go down the rest of the river that day. It wasn't till a year later that I faced this http://www.carolinacanoeclub.com/gallery/lisa.jpg.

I'm not ready to try this yet http://webpages.charter.net/lelandd/...llery/elk1.jpg
 

Greg_R

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Hmmm... I would say it's a toss-up between the following:

1) Running out of air while SCUBA diving (at 100ft). While busy trying to salvage an item from a shipwreck, I got distracted and didn't keep an eye on my buddy (mistake #1). He ended up 250ft off the wreck in the sand (while I was busy he came down with strong nitrogen narcosis symptoms, i.e. you act intoxicated due to the depth). I followed the wreck reel line (visibility was ~15ft) and found him swimming in circles. When he saw me, he signaled "out-of-air" and ripped my regulator out of my mouth. After getting my spare, we headed back to the anchor line (mistake #2). At that time, I had 1/3 a tank of air remaining (normally good for about 10+ minutes at that depth). Within 1 minute, the entire tank was drained. We ended up making an emergency ascent to the surface (not fun) and got to sit around on the dive boat waiting for signs of the bends (also not fun). Fortunately neither of us experienced symptoms (despite being very close to the no-decompression limits for that dive).

2) While biking on the C&O canal, I decided to ride through an area of the trail that had been washed out (trail was ~1 ft wide). When the person ahead of me stopped, I went to put my feet down and found nothing but air. I went over the edge sideways and flipped end over end 4 times (according to witnesses) down the 30ft embankment (which was predominantly sharp rocks). I had no safety equipment on and landed in ~3ft. of water but walked away with nothing but scratches and a few bruises. The people riding with me had to toss down some water and a few candy bars before I could climb back up (the shock of the fall was such that I could barely move).
 

MarkHastings

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Watching my mom run across the street after church, only to have her heel brake and she fell in the middle of the road. A car came roaring over the hill and had to slam on it's brakes and almost ran her over.

I was only about 10 and that image of almost loosing her still haunts me to this day.

p.s. She didn't get hit, but still...The lord can take me whenever he wants, but don't even think about taking my mom.
 

Mike Voigt

Supporting Actor
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Sep 30, 1997
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Having an old truck barrel into the passenger corner/side of the car I was sitting in at 70-80 mph. The truck wasn't damaged. Driver was being taught how to drive, and had mistaken the accelerator for the brake. Our car's frame was bent, never to be fixed correctly. German import, in Latin America, so had to get a few parts from Germany, talk about expensive. Insurance - what's that?

Dad was driving. I was the passenger. Lucky in that the front was actually the cargo space (old VW 412) and thus absorbed a lot of impact. And that we were about 1 second slower. Otherwise I might not be typing this.
 

DonnyD

Screenwriter
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Jun 12, 1999
Messages
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I've had a lot of scary moments throughout the years but one that occurred two years ago haunts me and has me noided a lot when I'm on a job.........
I took a remodel/build job on the Tenn River for a friend that consisted of building a nice multi-level deck out over a cliff among several other things. We had to pour footings in the cliff slope for anchors to the posts that would hold up a steel beam that would end up being the main supports for the deck..... To weld all this steel together, we were forced to hang a latter laterally out to the beam/post junction.... Two of my guys positioned the ladder while I donned the welding gear since I was the ONLY welder..... I climbed out accross the ladder and got all set and ready, shook my head to lower my welding helment and I suddenly felt movement and "clicking" which later I realized was the ladder locks sliding across rungs, therefore collapsing. With the welding helment down, I could not see what was happening so down I went, blind........... you just don't have time to think in these situations but luckily, somehow, I rode the ladder down and it more or less broke my fall to the rocks below. I landed on a small ledge 12 ft down......... and apparently damaged a hip joint from the jar..... later, it swelled to the point that the hip particially dislocated...very painful.........
Now, I am very cautious about heights and ladder positions and I don't EVER trust someone else setting up a ladder for me. It turned out that the two guys had not locked the ladder when they positioned it.... and no, they don't work for me anymore....
I dream of that fall sometimes wake up very scared. Sure, there's been other scary moments but nothing like this in a long time........
 

Michael Warner

Supporting Actor
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Sep 24, 1999
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Walking alone through a somewhat shady section of New Orleans late at night on my way home from school I noticed a man standing in a doorway that I was approaching. As I got closer I saw that he was holding a massive handgun in the ready position while a few of his associates were visible through the window cleaning out the store. For some reason my feet just kept on moving while I processed all of this information and before I knew it I was standing face to face with the guy. I stopped, looked him in the eye, and motioned that I would just keep on walking if it was OK with him. He stared at me for a few seconds then nodded and away I went.

It's odd because I've had more direct threats to my well-being but this one sticks in my mind as he was clearly weighing all the pros and cons of his decision and he would likely have been just as non-plussed about popping me as he was about letting me pass. For whatever reason he decided I wasn't worth the trouble. Lucky me.
 

Van Patton

Second Unit
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Jun 27, 2001
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About 6 months ago I and 2 of my friends went to a downtown park on a Friday night and we threw eggs at some local ricers....We figured they didn't see us so we drove threw them in his dad's BMW...BAD MOVE. So we cruise threw them and they're eyeing us and we start to get real scared so we tell him to get the hell out of there. Well when we're turning around they take their cars and surround us with like 4 cars blocking us in except for the back. It's at this point that we have about 15 guys pounding on the car and trying to break the windows out. So after about 2 minutes of this we realize that the nobody is behind us so we back up about 30 mph and do a J turn. To get out we had to drive through this lawn section of the park and go over a curb. I'm only 18 but that is my scariest moment yet.
 

Dave_Brown

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 6, 2001
Messages
666
About 6 months ago I and 2 of my friends went to a downtown park on a Friday night and we threw eggs at some local ricers....We figured they didn't see us so we drove threw them in his dad's BMW...BAD MOVE. So we cruise threw them and they're eyeing us and we start to get real scared so we tell him to get the hell out of there. Well when we're turning around they take their cars and surround us with like 4 cars blocking us in except for the back. It's at this point that we have about 15 guys pounding on the car and trying to break the windows out. So after about 2 minutes of this we realize that the nobody is behind us so we back up about 30 mph and do a J turn. To get out we had to drive through this lawn section of the park and go over a curb. I'm only 18 but that is my scariest moment yet.
Dang, for once I wish the ricers would have won and beat the snot out of you and your crew. Punks throwing eggs are lowest form of pond scum regardless what they are driving.
 

Matt Pasant

Second Unit
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Jan 16, 2001
Messages
493
I was once filling up my boat with gasoline in port, and the filler line b/w the input and the tank became disconnected (unknown to me), and the bilge was filled about 45 gallons of gas, (again unknown to me).

I stopped, switched to the other tank, filled it up and paid. I was then running the bilge pump, and a guy 2 boats down noticed the gas in the water.

So we opened up the hatch and there was gas everywhere.

Had that guy not noticed, and I would have turned the key to start the engine, or if there was a spark of any kind.... I am dead in 2 seconds flat.

Needless to say, everytime I fill the tanks from here on out, I check to make sure that hose is in place.
 

Eric_L

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Assisting in the rescue of a drowning man in a current. He pulled me off the platform and instinctually held on to me. (He had an ice chest tied to his foot that had snagged underwater) I had to fight to break free from him underwater. It took a while and I nearly blacked out. It was an odd peaceful feeling when I considered not bothering to swim to the surface.

He died, but the mammalian diving reflex saved him. The water was cold enough that he was resuscitated and is alive and well today.
 

brentl

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I would say that his hard stopped beating, but the cold water allowed him to be resusitated afterwards.

"Dang, for once I wish the ricers would have won and beat the snot out of you and your crew. Punks throwing eggs are lowest form of pond scum regardless what they are driving."

AGREED!!

LOTS of people, myself included(I'm 35), like to make our cars OURS and that's NOT "ricing"!
 

Keith Mickunas

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Nathan - "rice" is the term applied to japanese cars that have all sorts of crap on them, like coffee-can tail pipes and huge wings. As much as I hate them, there is never any justification for throwing an egg at someone's car. You deserve what you get for a cowardly act like that.
 

Ricardo C

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Is there a term for modded American (or European) cars? Serious question, I swear :)

As for my scariest moment... I've been lucky in terms of having never been the victim of a mugging, never been in a car accident, and having never found myself seriously outmatched in a fistfight. But the one time I seriously feared for my life was at the beach when I was about 11-12. I was swimming and all of a sudden this rip current started pulling me away. Luckily my mom was there and pulled me to safety. I know it doesn't sound like much, but that moment when I looked around and realized what was happening was pretty spooky, especially at that age.

Also, I've had a few panic attacks. They never last more than a minute or two, but they're so intense that they frighten the crap out of me. I'm fairly certain it's all psychological, so I'm considering therapy, though I wouldn't say no to medication either. Thankfully they're not very frequent.
 

Keith Mickunas

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Some people make their European cars more "Euro". If you see a VW with a European front license plate and deep dish wheels, they're trying to be euro. It's stupid too, but they think they're cool. I don't know if there is a deragatory word for that as those that do it call it euro.
 

Ted Lee

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interesting thread. :emoji_thumbsup:
My scariest moment would have to be the night that I spent in a Tijuanna prison.
okay, you can't just post a one-liner.

mine is easy.

anyone familiar with cajon pass in southern california? if not, let's just say it is an extremely steep grade, with nothing but a very very long drop if you go off the edge.

it's wintertime and the pass is locked-up due to snow. police cruisers are escorting down "packs" of vehicles - probably 50 cars or so per pack, doing around 10 mph or so. i'm in the middle somewhere, in the slow-lane.

all of a sudden, my rx-7 loses it. my car starts spinning and fishtailing. from what i can tell, i somehow spin and slide from the slow-lane all the way over to the fast-lane without hitting anyone. i'm sure i did at least two complete 360's. i can see the railing come right at me, but i somehow manage to manouver the car back into line, facing the correct way. i probably missed that railing by less than 50 feet.

my roomate that i had just met was in the car with me. she was ... visibly shaken ... to say the least.

i am so glad i didn't crash.

oh yeah...i actually have another story where i think i almost died, but i don't think i'd better get into that one. legal issues and all... :b
 

Steve_Tk

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I've never really feared for my life like some people have. I think the closest thing to it was one time in traffic a guy cut me off, so close that I got really pissed. So I sped up in front of him and cut him off, if he had not have braked I would have hit him. Pretty smart in my college years. Well we stopped at a light, I saw him get out of his car, so my friend and I both got out, started yelling back and forth. He back up reached in his car and pulled out a hand gun. We slowly backed up and got in the car, he stood there and we drove away at the light. One of the reasons I don't act like a moron anymore. You gotta love those days where you are invinceble and nothing can happen to you. I was such an Idiot as a kid.

But that was just panic, but as a kid I remember very well the one time that literally scared me shitless for 3 seconds. In Savannah I was swimming in the water and I could see the porpoises out in the ocean. I wanted to paddle out a ways to get a closer look. Well I assumed that before I got half way out there I would see them pop up and then I would go back. But they were no where to be seen so I just kept wading out deeper. Then I hear this man from the beach yelling to get back to shore, so I start to turn around. And in savannah, the water is brown. You can't see more than 2 feet in it. Right as I lean forward to start paddling this huge black porpoise pops up right in front of me for air. I screamed and then two more popped up (I say it was a porpoise because it was not a dolphin, it was much larger and it was jet black, so who knows). I don't know why I was so startled. But there is something about the ocean when you can't see what's coming and then a very large animals pops out 2 feet in front of you. I guess Jaws had something to do with, large animals coming up from under you with no warning. I've hated that till this day. I like swimming in water that's clear, so I can see the 5 foot long Baracuda like in Cancun, but that's another story.
 

Chris Moe

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Jun 12, 2002
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okay, you can't just post a one-liner.
OK, OK.

It happened with in the first 3 weeks of college. I went to SDSU so I was only about 20 minutes away from Mexico where the drinking age is 18. Now, when I got to school the people who ran the dorms had a little meeting and warned us about Tijuanna and told horror stories about people getting stuck in the jails down there for stupid stuff.

On the fateful night of the arrest before we had even left the dorms I had already had 7-8 shots of tequilla. When we got down to TJ the place we went to was giving out free shots of tequilla when you ordered a beer. A few of the people that I was with didn't want their shots so I did theirs as well. Anyway, we drank the night away and as you can probably guess got really hammered.

On the way back home we had to cross the bridge, if you have ever been to TJ you probably know what bridge I am talking about. Myself and two of the guys I was with decided that we really needed to go to the bathroom. So we went off the bridge. As we were standing there peeing all of a sudden a spotlight from down below started shining on us. We looked down and it was from a cop car so we all started running. We made it off the bridge and after about a block we figured we were ok. We were wrong. Before we knew it three cops were handcuffing us and putting us in the back of a car. I remember asking what I was getting arrested for, the cops reply "for making pee pee of bridge". Unfortunately none of us had any money to bribe the cops otherwise we probably could have avoided being thrown in jail.

It is amazing how fast being arrested will sober you up.

So the three of us are in the back of the cop car and the cops are driving like maniacs, they have their lights on and everything. They first take us to some sort of staging area. I went first, gave them my ID and the cops spoke some spanish to each other and I really had no idea what was going on. After they were done checking me in the cops brought me back out to the car and handcuffed me to the car and went back inside leaving me there all by myself. So there I am, 18 years old, haven't even been in college for a month yet and I am sitting handcuffed in the back of cop car in Tijuanna. The cops had not put the cuffs on very tight and I could actually slip my hand out of the cuffs. For a couple seconds I consider running, but I had no idea where I was and I figured even if I did make it my friends would be worse off so I stayed put (very glad I didn't try running, that would have been extremely dumb). So eventually my two friends are brought back out to the car and they haul us off to the actual jail.

Luckily they put the three of us in the same cell. We were also put in with two other college kids. One of the other guys was passed out the whole time we were there, the other guy was cool enough. The cops let us sit there for a several hours before they let us make any phone calls. During that time we got flashed by a couple of hookers that worked at the jail.

Anyway, we finally got to make our phone calls at around four in the morning. Now we had gone down with a quite a few people from the dorms, but seeing how we hadn't been down in school very long we didn't know anyones phone number. About the only numbers we had were our own so we each called our roommates, none of whom came to TJ with us that night. I tried calling my roommate first, no answer. One of my friends tried calling his, no answer. The last guy tried calling his friend, no answer. So the cops put us back in our cell.

About an hour later the cops let us try again. First call, no answer. Second call, no answer. Third call, finally someone picks up. The roommate grudgingly agrees to come down and pick us up, but he says he has no money. So this guy drives down to the jail. Gets one of our ATM cards, drives back across the border and gets the money to bail us out ($30 each if I remember correctly) and then drives back to bail us out. In some weird stroke of luck, the guy who came down to bail us out was from TJ and actually knew one of the guys working at the jail, so once he showed up things went pretty smoothly.

Well that is my story, I only went to TJ twice after that, both of those times were for concerts.
 

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