Wednesday, April 29, 2009

But awshifer, I washent drinking...

Every now and then I am asked to tell a story about a fire fighter adventure. Although there are of course some very ugly things that are seen, there are also some situations that are interesting, exciting and/or just plain funny.

There are times when we leave a call and can feel the sadness of it for days and there are also days when we walk away and truly know what a huge difference we made.....those are the days we go out for ice-cream--lol.

Anyway, Drinking and Driving....Stupid. No way around it, it is just plain stupid. The sad thing is, when I was young and stupid, I did it. God looked out for me. I remember once when I was about 19 or 20, I ran my car off of the road after a night of drinking. It was probably 3 or 4 AM. A man I didn't know pulled over and asked if I was ok. I said I was. I told him that some OTHER drunk driver had run me off the road. He told me it was obvious I was drunk and could he give me a ride home. Like I said, I was 19 or 20 and he was probably about 40. Like most people that are intoxicated, I had absolutely no inhibitions. I thanked him and hopped right in his car. Well, the most incredible thing happened. He took me straight home! Before he dropped me off, he told me that I should never have gotten in the car with him. He told me how he could have done anything to me and I would have had no way of preventing it. He was right, of course. Even though that was a time when I wasn't paying very much attention to God, He obviously was keeping close tabs on me. (however, He did remind me of my misdeeds and did nothing to prevent that throbbing headache I had for the next 2 days......Perhaps that was his way of trying to remind me not to do THAT again.......it took a few more headaches after that to get the message across)

Hey, this story isn't supposed to be about me.

Monkeys Are Funny

One night, around 2 or 3 AM we got a call at the firehouse. We were told there was an overturned vehicle on a country road in our area.

When we arrived, the car was upside down, smoking just a bit and all the windows were broken, airbags deployed etc. There was also blood on what was left of the windshield and on the steering wheel. We secured the car and spent about an hour searching the woods, with flashlights, for the occupants of the vehicle. Nothing.

After about an hour, we got another call that there was a car wreck victim at a house about 2 blocks away from where we were. We went to that address, and there sitting outside was a kid about 18 or 19. He was scraped, bumped and bruised. There was a small gash on his head also, but other than that, he was fine. Well, he was "feeling no pain" at that particular moment. And yes, you guessed it, the car a few blocks away had been his. After his accident, he had walked to a friends house.

While I was checking him out and cleaning him up a bit, he was carrying on about how his car was ruined but how cool it had been while it was happening. (I'm thinking that the alcohol in his system prevented him from seeing the policeman standing right behind me).

Although he appeared to have no serious injuries, it was decided he should still go to the ER to be checked out. He said he didn't have a ride....that was ok, there was a friendly policeman there who was happy to give him a private escort.

Anyway, it's the one liner that he said that made this a funny story. After he finished listening (or pretending to) to me about how lucky he was and about how he should never drink and drive etc etc etc. He looked at me and the policeman and said in the most earnest voice, "But I WASN"T drinking and driving. I swear I wasn't. I made sure I finished ALL my drinking BEFORE I decided to drive home!"

and he was serious.

Have a great day!!! MyADHDMe

19 comments:

Skoots1moM said...

i'd keep logs, generic of course, cause you'll be able to write a wonderful book one day of our adventures in "firedom"...good post...praying our kids in our community hear the warnings :)

Kelly said...

I had to read the title twice to get it. (At first I thought this was going to be a post about the word verification thingie).

God watches over his children for sure. I'll bet that was someone's dad who picked you up. Had to be.

Sue J. said...

The word that comes to mind is....

SOBERING!

Programs like D.A.R.E. and, locally, S.O.D.A., are reaching our younger kids. CJ just finished a project for school in which she presented a recipe for spaghetti sauce. It had a huge disclaimer about what happens to the wine that goes in ("so that it's safe to drink.")

Angels come in many forms. You surely met one on the road that morning. And you were an angel for your lost friend on the stoop. Wonder if he realized that later....

Mocha with Linda said...

Well, we'll all sleep better knowing they're gulping them down before they get behind the wheel, won't we?! That is too funny.

So glad your incident as a young adult turned out well.

Bonita said...

I hope he learned his lesson!

My pastor's first wife and unborn child were killed by a drunk driver in a head-on collision. His current wife and child were hit head on by one on New Year's Day of this year. Thankfully, God protected them.

I have little tolerance for drunk driving! And I pray for my nephew who does it habitually.

Meredith Leigh Knight said...

Thank you so much for you nice comment on my blog! I will share that with my daughter.

I enjoyed your post. Had a good laugh at the end, since it turned out okay. Hopefully, he learned a lesson, as we all have to do, even if it's sometimes the hard way!

Greg C said...

Oh that's a good one. I stopped to assist someone who had been in an accident. This very young girl had run a stop sign and hit a family going to church. She was so drunk she couldn't figure out how to work the seatbelt. She said in a very slurred voice. Please help me get this seatbelt undone, I need to get out so I can go home. I told her honey, I don't think you are going home anytime soon. And besides, you are in no condition to stand up.

samurai said...

Wow... i am glad to hear that the kid was ok (and that you were ok after your ordeal).

Pam from alertandorientedx4 said...

oh, my. I used to be a ground supervisor for a major airline. Federal law (and common sense) says it is illegal to allow an intoxicated person on a commercial flight. I had one guy so drunk, he called me a 'fish-smelling c.." Well, you get the idea. I had another lady tell me that her horse was in labor and wouldn't foal until she (lady) arrived. I told her to tell the mare it was going to be a l-o-n-g labor....

Edie said...

I have looked back at a number of times in my life where God was certainly looking out for me even though I wasn't giving Him much thought too. The pure fact that so many children make it to adulthood is proof that there is a God and that He watches out us.

So glad nothing happened to you that night.

Beverlydru said...

This reminds me of my husband's favorite sho, "Cops". No one on there has EVER done anything wrong. It's funny in a sad sort of way.

Leaon Mary said...

Man did THIS every bring back some horrible memories. lol First hearing about YOUR younger days and then this kids. It sounded very familiar to my younger days*
MAJOR FLASHBACKS...

Debbie said...

Oh my word. Let's hope that accident scared some sense into him.

Sue J. said...

Hey....Your blog just got a "nod" from Bonita on her writer's blog!!

Woo hoo, you!!!

Jeff and Valerie Carr said...

....still laughing!

Heaven said...

That was funny! (the kid's reaction anyway)

I, too, have drunken driving episodes from my past. God probably kept very busy with me back then. It's so scary because so many people drink and drive and don't realize how it can totally change their life in an instant. I have a friend who had to drive 3 blocks home from a bar, crashed, and killed the other driver. 3 blocks!

Thanks for sharing a firefighter moment:)

Edie said...

Just stopping in to say hi my friend!
Goodnight!

Karen Hossink said...

Well, if you're going to be literal, the kid was telling the truth.
That's what we call young and stupid!!! LOL
So glad God had His hand on you before you even knew it.

Meredith said...

I've been waiting for you to share some stories from firefighting! Great story! and I'm thankful your story turned out well, it could have gone so many different ways of wrong.