What's the closest you've come to dying/getting killed?
 

I'd have to say just missing a giant oak without my seatbelt on as a teenager. Not too exciting.

Vietnam. Apparently they didn't appreciate me visiting there. Same thing in Panama. While the Iraqis didn't appreciate my visit their displeasure was less violently demonstrated.

Does 12 years of forced Catholic school count?

Which time? I've never have been exposed to things like Kurt has, but life is truly a "roll of the dice", and we're all just lucky imo.

Got in a car accident when I was 16. Flipped a truck over end-to-end 3 times and was ejected 100 ft. Broke my C2 vert, 10 staples in my head, broke both bones in my left fore arm, broke my pelvis, tons of deep lacerations. I saw white before I woke up.

Good times.

Uncle Sam still won't let me talk about it.

Terry, you are lucky that car didn't land on you!

About 6 years old and very sick, heart stopped.
It wasn't really a light, more like very bright static on a TV channel with no signal but calming and beautiful. Incredible feeling that can't really be described.

I remember in High School my friend Tim (who pokes his head in here from time to time) and I decided to drag race our cars: an '85 Plymouth Turismo and an '85 VW Jetta. I remember flooring it at the light at Boughton and Naperville roads in Bolingbrook, and the next light in front of us immediately turned red. I slammed on the brakes, locked up all four wheels, and just barely avoided t-boning a car entering the intersection as I skidded to a stop.

Couple of close calls on street bikes and an ill-advised "yank & bank" buzz job on a gusty day in a rental Cessna 150 during my pilot training.

woke up in a pool of blood, new road bike demolished, hit from behind. No memory of the incident whatsoever, helmet worked though 23 stitches above my left eye.

As a passenger, I was in a VW Jetta that left the road and flipped over a few times. I still remember being in the upside down car, sliding as leaves and debris shot in at us where the windshield once was until we came to a stop. I reached up, undid the seatbelt and walked away.

A few "oh *****" moments in airplanes, although nothing that resulted in a crash or incident, thankfully.

A really, really, REALLY bad car wreck in my pride & joy at the time (Mustang GT 5.0) when I lived down in Florida. When I saw the car later at the insurance yard I was horrified - it literally looked like the cars you see in those static "don't drink and drive" displays that someone died in. There was a large section of the car bashed in only a few inches from where I'd been sitting in the driver's seat. I guess I didn't realize at the time how lucky I was (I was in shock at the accident scene and thankfully only had some bruising - I remember very little from the scene, kind of like it was all a blur and/or in slow motion). The cause was wet roads, high mileage/long-lasting "polyglass" tires (they suck - never get them even if they ARE economical) and a guy in a beat-up truck in front of me with non-functioning taillights/brake lights - and me not paying close enough attention.

I didn't get back into a car to drive for a good month after that. It was pretty crazy.

I got stuck with bloody needles doing surgery on HIV+ patients twice. This was in the late 80's before any meds for AIDS. I was lucky.

I got off a bush plane in Alaska 15 minutes before it crashed, killing two of my friends, the pilot and a fishing guide.

I crashed a motorcycle into the back of a truck at a high rate of speed. No helmet. Young, stupid and lucky.

The day before high school graduation I got out of a car driven by a drunk classmate at midnight. He crashed his car and was killed an hour later.

I've been lucky.

Weirdest part was I was ejected thru the back window and broke my arm against the inside of the tailgate. Left a hand size dent.

...and I didn't lose consciousness until I hit the ground, and only for a few seconds.

Had some close calls, the most recent yesterday. I was in the garage doing some work, and lightning hit 2 pear trees about 75 yards across the street. Everything was bright orange, the air concussion was amazing, my right ear felt like I had just got water in my ear. We walked over to look at the trees about 30 minutes later to look at the bark that was stripped off and the soil around the base of the trees was blown out like a small bomb exploded.

Moses wins.

10 years ago at my dad's place, working on my MGB. One jackstand slipped, then the other toppled over and I got pinned under the car. Luckily, the side of the jackstand took the weight but I was mashed under there pretty tight. Garage door was closed, dad was away for 2 weeks.

People sometimes say that in situations like that, you get an amazing calmness... a sense of deliberation to think clearly and get out safely. Bull$hit. I screamed and flailed like a panicked child, convinced I would die there. I only calmed down after exhausting myself, and was able to wiggle my floor jack over and wrestle it under the car, right by my armpit, and awkwardly jack the car up enough to peel myself out.

scary scary scary

Since then, I never get under a car until I go to each corner, SHOVE HARD, and feel the car is secure. That saved me a couple years ago when I was working on my neighbor's '72 VW bus. I had the front up and was about to get underneath to work on the shift linkages. I got the van onto stands with the wheels off, and then walked to the front and gave it a hard shove to make sure it was solid.

I heard a "PING", and then it wobbled a bit. I crouched over, and pushed the van as I looked. On one of the stands, two legs would wiggle; the other two stayed in place. I turned around to get the jack, and the whole works came tumbling down. Glad I didn't get that in the teeth

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1175565281.jpg

Every Friday and Saturday night, ages 16-20.

Terry, a friend of mine in high school was in a similar accident while driving drunk. He veered off of the road, hit a culvert, and flipped the car end over end. He was ejected out of the sunroof, and the car landed on him beside the road. The police think that the recent heavy rain and my friend's skinny build saved him, as the car actually pushed him into the mud. He still ended up with broken ribs, jaw, and a bunch of smaller injuries.

Now it makes sense!