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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWeird things you have accomplished
It's an accomplishment thread, so I clarified the title.
Me: Rode a mechanical bull for over 8 seconds.
Go.
Denninmi
(6,581 posts)Ended up playing fugitive from the law. I was trying to save my fruit crop from a spring freeze.
I had to hide behind the compost bin for five minutes while the cops shined my yard with a spotlight. Neighbor saw me out there and called to report something "suspicious". I was in my pajamas and a winter coat with no ID, and I just didn't want to explain that to the cops at 3:30 in the morning.
I still go out on frosty spring mornings in the wee hours to hose down fruit trees if frost threatens, but now I'm fully dressed and I take my wallet just to be sure.
UPDATED to add -- the OP changed it to "weird things you've accomplished" after I posted this -- so, I guess I accomplished not going to jail for being out in the yard at 3:30 in the morning in my pajamas while spraying fruit trees with a hose.
That story is better than any I imagined this thread would get!
That's hysterical!
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I about fell out of my chair LMAO
crunch60
(1,412 posts)with just my little jammy shorts, no top. (I'm a lady) I was trying to finish a mosaic piece of art I was applying to my cement wall. I had a flashlight on a little table, shining toward the wall. I had cement and spatula in my hand. I would shine the light on my tile and pick out a piece, then embed it onto the wall.
All of a sudden, helicopters were very low. shining their spotlight on me and they weren't moving. I didn't know what to do except put my hands in the air for a minute, grabbed my flashlight and ran back into the house. Then I waited for a unit to come knocking at my door. Nobody came, lucky me.
Neighbor reported that someone was tagging a wall. So much for my late night excursions, but I did get my wall art finished with no arrest.
I think I can just about die laughing at this image you implanted in my brain!
Response to Denninmi (Reply #1)
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HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)That's the only way I can throw darts now but fortunately I learned how to do it long before it became impossible for me to throw overhand anymore.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)And won out of 20 people in the axe throwing contest. Throwing darts is a hell of a lot harder
I'm a geek though, so I wanted to see what other accomplishments had been made that were less geeky than mine
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)On the plus side, nobody was injured but the axe was toast.
No one got injured in this competition, either. It was aimed at a target and we had all been qualified earlier in the day
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)All I really remember is the head flying off, my hands smashing down with the handle, and being scared shitless. Perhaps it is best not to use an axe in that condition (me, not the axe). I also almost killed my grandmother with one of those clutch-based yo-yos when the string broke, but that's another story.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I kicked ass in throwing one, though, believe it or not. I was sober as could be, but I impressed my then girlfriend
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)LynneSin
(95,337 posts)HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)applegrove
(118,965 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts):said in the Lord Vader kind of way:
That's VERY hard to do. I'd imagine it was a lot of fun though
Next time I go white water rafting, I want you on my team!
applegrove
(118,965 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)Seriously! The two times I tried it, we tipped over. Once was in a fairly safe location, the second was in a freezing cold spring where there were gars and alligators (aka Florida)
applegrove
(118,965 posts)No gaters here.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Anywhere is alligator and gar infested waters .
We survive, though.
I wish I lived in Canada. You don't have perpetually hot as hell weather. So lucky.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Silver river. It's fun, but yeah, watch out for the deadlies
You aren't allowed to dock randomly because of gators, but it's so scenic, it's amazing. I loved it.
applegrove
(118,965 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)I would love to go there and do a seven day trip. Or heck, a 2 day trip would rock my world. I love being outdoors, and don't get the opportunity to indulge that passion often enough.
applegrove
(118,965 posts)sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)with my uncle at about 1:00 AM in the middle of February during a near blizzard. It was damned cold and I was into that poor cow to my armpit to wrap the pulling chain around the calf's legs.
To see that little calf stand up was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced. When we finally got the calf out I swear the cow became my friend for life. We got them back to the barn and I went to school the next Monday with one hell of a story.
I was just a kid, maybe 12 or 13, and normally a calf like this would go to market in a couple of years but my uncle placed her into the breeding stock instead. He swears that he did that because it was a good heifer but my Grandfather told me years later that he kept it because it was my "first" calf.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)We hear too much about people taking life, and not nearly enough about people protecting it and facilitating it. That's such a wonderful story, Sharp.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)Growing up on a farm I've seen baby animals being born but that was the first time I ever actually had a hand in helping along the process.
It's something I'll never forget.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Glad to hear from someone who ushered new life into the world
handmade34
(22,759 posts)I used to sleep with my sows when they were about to farrow... never tired of watching the little ones being born (and had to help with a number of them)
I was going to list one of my weird accomplishments as the night I spent stuffing a prolapsed uterus back into the cow it came from...
Aerows
(39,961 posts)And thank you for sharing.
Bringing life in the world is pretty amazing. You helped a cow, too? That's also amazing. I'm Southern. We appreciate knowing how that livestock was helped along by our neighbors.
handmade34
(22,759 posts)you reminded me of one of my favorite sweet poems...
The Pasture
I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;
I'll only stop to rake the leaves away
(And wait to watch the water clear, I may):
I sha'n't be gone long.You come too.
I'm going out to fetch the little calf
That's standing by the mother. It's so young,
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.
I sha'n't be gone long.You come too.
-Robert Frost
Aerows
(39,961 posts)and so are the both of you for ushering new life into the world .
lastlib
(23,393 posts)years ago, we had a cow about due to have a calf. She wouldn't go to the barn (we tried for over two hours to get her to) where we could keep her & calf warm--this is in the middle of January, when most cows seem to schedule their due dates, and it's colder than blue blazes.
Middle of the night, I wake up hearing a pack of dogs barking and a cow mooing pretty loudly, and it hit me pretty quickly that this cow had had her calf, and these dogs were trying to get it. So I threw on coveralls, grabbed a rifle and flashlight and went out in the yard, where I had a clear "view" of where this cow was. Since it was dark, I really couldn't see anything, and the flashlight wasn't strong enough to help much. So I just pointed the rifle at where I thought a dog was, trying to hold the gun and the flashlight, and fired. I heard about half a yelp, then nothing. The cow stopped bawling. I half-ran down to where she was, and sure enough, she had been trying to protect her newborn calf from these dogs. She was nearly exhausted, and wouldn't have been able to hold out much longer. A dozen feet from her was a dead dog.
I started heading the calf toward the barn, and the mother followed; once I had them in the barn where they could keep warm, and dried the calf off, I gave the cow some feed and put down some hay for her and the calf to lay on. Then I went back to bed. Next morning, I walked down to see about that dog. Now, I'm not a good shot; I was half-dressed in the coveralls, no headgear, and the night temperature had been in the low teens. I had been trying to hold a flashlight and the rifle, shivering with cold, and I couldn't see what I was shooting--heck, I could've easily shot the cow, but I was fairly sure I was shooting wide of her. But when I looked that dog over, there was one bullet wound, in his forehead, right between the eyes!!! I couldn't have placed it any better if I had walked up to it and held the muzzle to its head! It would have been a pretty amazing shot, except for the fact that it was entirely dumb luck!
Mother and calf were fine.
iemitsu
(3,888 posts)except it was my grandfather's farm and during the daytime.
the experience impressed me and all my city friends.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)and when she and her siblings were feeling mischievous they led it into the house.
Obviously, that was nothing I saw, but I could only imagine. She and my grand aunt lived next door to one another for decade. They canned vegetables and fruit like nobody's business.
geardaddy
(24,936 posts)on the bus on the way to camp one year.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Cause Milk Duds are where it's at for stuffing one's face
geardaddy
(24,936 posts)I'm not going to fight you on that one, cher
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,843 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)You need to provide more information than that
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,843 posts)My dad loves trains, and the whole family would go down to the yard to watch them get moved around.
The engineer asked my brother if he'd like to drive the locomotive, and at first he said yes, but then he chickened out.
So they asked me.
I jumped at the chance!
It was maybe 100 feet that I drove the thing. And it was a good thing I didn't have to steer! I had trouble getting it to go a consistent speed...
Chug...chug...chugchugchugchug.......like that. It was a steam locomotive!
It was fun. I was maybe 12...
Aerows
(39,961 posts)See this is why I made this thread - I KNEW there were DUers that have had amazing experiences, and CAPeggy, that rocks! And you are brave, too.
I know most DUers are brave
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,843 posts)LuckyLib
(6,823 posts)and when I was 12, they would have asked my brothers, and when they said no, that was it. It would have been in my dreams. Nice to see some gender fairness going on for you!
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,843 posts)I mean, that was in the 50's!
Rhiannon12866
(207,016 posts)I drove a train, too, for four summers, in fact, but it was at an amusement park and that was my summer job. I took great pride in always getting it back to the station, since it was prone to mechanical trouble, unless it derailed and then I needed help.
trof
(54,256 posts)My great-aunt Lucia was an office worker for the AGS, the Alabama Great Southern Railroad.
Founded in 1877.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Great_Southern_Railroad
Part of her job was to issue passes for employees, so she knew all the engineers, conductors, crews, etc.
When I was a kid, she and her sister, both spinsters (sorta, that's a long story) would take me on a day trip on the train. Aunt Lucia would get us the passes.
I remember one trip we made from Birmingham, Alabama to Rising Faun, Georgia.
After a short wait in Georgia we'd catch the southbound back to Birmingham.
Breakfast in the diner on the way out and lunch on the way back.
White linen tablecloths and napkins.
First class service and scrumptious food.
The waiters were black men in spotless white tunics and black trousers.
The whole kitchen crew was also black.
The 'operating' crew, conductor, engineer, brakeman, whatever, were all white men.
That's how it was circa 1948 or so.
Aunt Lucia introduced me to the conductor. She explained that he was the 'boss' of the train.
I had thought the engineer was.
Nope.
The conductor took me on a tour of the whole train. Kitchen, baggage car, everything 'regular' passengers didn't see.
We wound up in the locomotive. The engineer lifted me up into his lap and let me 'steer' the train.
And I got to blow the LOUD horn.
WooHoo!
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)ceases to amaze me.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)Went up to the top of the cantilevered section, too. The best part is, I think I've finally figured out where I stashed the photos.
That photo would be awesome, please post it if you can!
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)I've been looking for these photos for a couple of years. Been driving me nuts because I rember putting them in a "safe place." Wherever that may be.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I'm sure everyone else would be delighted, too!
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)When I find the damned things I will post them.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I look forward to seeing them
bluesbassman
(19,387 posts)Well, technically my feet and legs did, but what happened was this: Used to go to a lake resort every New Year to party. One of the things they did was host a "New Years Day Water Ski Club". The idea was everybody would get up early on New Years morning hungover and go water skiing. If you did a lap you got a t-shirt commemorating the event. On this occasion I did my lap and got my shirt. However, the woman I was dating at the time wanted to do it too, but at the last minute chickened out because it was too cold. Still, she wanted a shirt and the only way to get one was to ski so she sweetly asked if I would ski for her. By this time I was all dried off from my run and not too keen on getting soaked again, so I decided to start from the dock, do my lap and try to get back to the dock without going in the water. I was able to get launched ok, did my lap, and timed it just right so that I dropped the rope and glided right up to the dock, flipped around at the end and sat back down on the dock, hair still dry. Got a nice round of applause from the crowd at the dock.
Post script to the story though was that one of our friends decided she'd try my stunt when it was her turn. She made it off the dock ok, and did her lap, but her timing was way off and she hit the dock at just about full speed, flew in the air about 15 feet and rolled up the dock like a pinwheel. Fortunately I think she was still drunk from the night before and stayed loose, so no injuries other than some bruises and her pride.
Everybody else stayed in the water after that.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)And good for you for doing it for your lady
mrmpa
(4,033 posts)was in Athens with my niece in January of 2005. The Greeks hadn't fixed the metro gates, so you could travel all day for free (no wonder they're in trouble). This was right after the 2004 Olympics. We climbed to the top of the Acropolis, for me this was a great accomplishment, since I was in need of a knee replacement. This was my niece's 8th trip up the hill to the Acropolis as many friends had come to visit her while she lived in Greece.
Watched the Security come after a group of Mexican students who tried to take a picture of themselves with their flag. Apparently you can't do that at the Acropolis.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I'd say that's an accomplishment!
Sorry to hear about the Mexican students. That rather sucks that they couldn't take a picture of themselves with their national flag.
mrmpa
(4,033 posts)mrmpa
(4,033 posts)has to do with infamous photograph of the Nazi Flag hangin at the Acropolis during WWII.
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)Probably my most useless skill.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I haven't learned to ride a unicycle.
Yet.
YET.
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)You probably already have a well defined sense of balance.
This will develop it even more. It's amazing all the directions there are to fall off something with only one wheel.
My best tip is to get on it and just start pedaling. Maybe find a post or something to start from but don't try to hold onto a rail or use broom sticks as a crutch.
Getting (and keeping) that wheel turning is your best hope of staying upright.
I hadn't been on a unicycle in ages and one of our roommates left one recently when they moved out.
Of course I tried it.
Yes. It is like riding a bike.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Juggling, once you get the hang of it, never leaves you
crunch60
(1,412 posts)All of them .
Mostly Rollerblading these days, though, with Abec-5 bearings.
Not overly impressive, but I love my skates.
I want these:
CottonBear
(21,598 posts)I once rode my unicycle in a student film which was being shot in my neighborhood in a Southern college town. I even had a line: "Hey! Watch out!"
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)Fixed gear and no coast action whatsoever.
CottonBear
(21,598 posts)I used to ride up and down hills in a mountain town in TN and ride as much as 1/2 to 2 miles at a time. I was very young and in awesome shape then. My unicycle is broken down. It's my original one from Sears circa 1972. It has a bent wheel and a pedal fell off because the threads on the pedal connection wore out. I need a new one.
BTW, I've never posted to you on DU but I've read your posts! Nice to meet you!
Aerows
(39,961 posts)But that hasn't the appeal of a well-famed hobby that you and the other perfected.
I admire you both for catching a hobby that requires a playful heart.
CottonBear
(21,598 posts)I somehow decided (after perusing the Sears & Roebuck catalog) that I wanted a unicycle. I was in 2nd grade. I got the unicycle for either Christmas or my birthday (can't remember now...) and it took me the better part of 2 years to learn how to ride it. Mostly because I was too small for the unicycle. I held onto a brick wall around our carport and struggled along until one day I rode a a few feet. Then I progressed to mounting the unicycle when not holding onto to something. Then I was on my way (on one wheel!) My cousin and my good friend could ride too, so we had a team of sorts.
Unicycle riding requires great quadriceps strength, good balance and endurance (as well as general physical well being.)
I should try riding again sometime soon. Now I just need a new uni...
Aerows
(39,961 posts)aren't dangerous if you use the right equipment. I've been tossed to the gravel a time or two, and due to my elbow pads, knee pads, and wrist covers, it was as benign as showing up early to a party.
ohiosmith
(24,262 posts)bluesbassman
(19,387 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)Bad bet!
Major Nikon
(36,828 posts)I've actually done this several times. So far I've never gone completely mind numb yet, but I've seen many people who have.
trof
(54,256 posts)Vance AFB, 1963.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)kentauros
(29,414 posts)Have you ever done the motion-sickness testing with the off-axis rotating chair? I did that during testing I got to do at NASA-JSC (they would take civilians for their ongoing studies.) And yes, I did get sick. They seem to excel at such physiology studies
Major Nikon
(36,828 posts)The altitude chamber itself is a little unsettling for some, but oxygen clears your head very quickly. The last time I did it they also had a simulator that rotated. Basically you just fly the simulator in a standard rate turn while the whole thing rotates. Then they give you a distraction, like picking something up off the floor and you get to experience spatial disorientation. It's more of a dizzy feeling than a sick feeling. I've experienced it in a real aircraft before. You just have to control the urge to do what your body is telling you and follow what your instruments are telling you. I've never had a problem with it, but I can see how it's possible, which is the point of the exercise.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)The testing I went through was the preliminary to a second phase where they then did all the same tests with you on anti-motion-sickness drugs. I never finished the first phase, probably due to something like college class days interfering with their schedule. If I had been able to finish it, that would have meant a chance to go up in the Vomit Comet KC-135 even if the first time up, you're strapped in. The free floating bits are only allowed in the second phase.
The chair test involved a partially enclosed area so that you could periodically see out into the open of their testing area. I think there was also a line painted on the walls to indicate the horizon. I believe the chair spun at 45rpm and there were three pads you had to touch with your head. One in front about chest level, and one to either side of the head. You had to touch them at regular intervals, like every few seconds while the chair was in motion.
There were two sessions in the chair. The first had it in the 90 degree upright position. The second had it 15-degrees off-axis. Now the horizon was wobbling, and they still wanted you to touch the pads like before. I think I lasted all of a single minute before I motioned them to stop me. They had observers watching the whole time and knew what symptoms to look for. The color was gone from my face and my palms were clammy. And I didn't feel so good
It did teach me how much the inner ear relies on how we perceive the horizon and how important it is to actually see it. They had a balance beam test that showed just how easy it is to lose your balance when you can't see the horizon. It's all fascinating to me, but I must say I don't think I'd do very well in a pressure chamber. I'm a sea-level only kind of guy
trof
(54,256 posts)Hypoxia (oxygen starvation) affect people in different ways.
This helps you to see how you feel when it happens so you know that's what the problem is and (hopefully) fix it.
Go to 100% oxygen, descend to a lower altitude, etc.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)and being given a distraction. That's more in tune with inner ear confusion, like the chair-test I did
I've never done a pressure chamber. I think that's usually only done for the military and astronauts. Motion-sickness testing is done for the astronauts, too, but with civilian applications, re, drug-testing.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)And thank you for individually educating those of us who have not had your experiences. It sounds like you guys did some amazing things, which is what this thread is for - to celebrate where you pushed the envelope
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)I was the first graduate of the court reporting school at Houston Community College. Got an Associate of Applied Science degree in 1977. When I went to graduation, they had forgotten to put my name in the program!! I was the ONLY graduate of the court reporting school that year.
I had had three years of college, then detoured for 2 years through vocational school, then went back and finished the B.A., and then got the crazy masochistic idea to go to law school, which took five years at night.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)slime molds. 3 hour credit lecture, 1 hr. credit lab.
The prof had a Ph.D. in Slime Molds. His wife had a Ph.D. in Fungus, and ran the lab. She was the chief fungus person at NASA Mission Control in Houston.
He looked like a blond surfer boy only aged 40 and she looked like Virginia Woolf.
I dare anyone to come up with a more useless college course.
But then, my faculty advisor, Old Weird Harold, had a Ph.D. in snails.
Biology sure attracts some weirdos.
BlueToTheBone
(3,747 posts)His studies of mychroizial life shows that they (fungi) can re mediate many toxic situations...you should have paid better attention and not laughed so much
http://www.fungi.com/about-paul-stamets.html
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)They are a multinucleated undifferentiated single-celled organism, kinda like a sponge, when they are crawling around in rotten logs. That is the plasmodium stage. They look like an amoeba shaped like tree branches when in that stage. Under a microscope they have fluid that streams one way for a minute and a half, and the other way for another minute and a half. Nobody knows why they do this.
When they dry up and create fruiting bodies, those look like either small balls or very tiny mushrooms, 2 or 3 mm high. There is a book where you can look up the fruiting bodies and tell the species from the appearance of the fruiting bodies.
I grew them in my dorm room in plastic petri dishes, on agar, and fed them ground up oatmeal. People thought I was weird for some reason.
All Hail the Mighty Myxomycetes!!!
BlueToTheBone
(3,747 posts)The idea of balancing the fluid by back and forth motion is wow.
Thanks for the slime mold lesson. See...it wasn't wasted at all!
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)He got a Ph.D. from the University of Texas.
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)Both were geniuses!
trof
(54,256 posts)OK, not QUITE 'space'.
The upper edge of the troposphere.
"The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. The troposphere starts at Earth's surface and goes up to a height of 7 to 20 km (4 to 12 miles, or 23,000 to 65,000 feet) above sea level. Most of the mass (about 75-80%) of the atmosphere is in the troposphere. "
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/troposphere.html
I took a T-38 to 50,000', nosed down and lit the afterburners till I hit Mach 1.3, the 'limiting airspeed' (858 mph),
I guess the wings were supposed to come off if you went past that.
Then I pulled about 20 degrees nose up and 'zoomed' it.
Got to about 65,000'.
Airspeed went to zero.
Looking up, the sky was black, not blue.
At high noon on earth I could see the moon and stars.
Really amazing.
Then the engines flamed out.
First the right one, then the left rolled back.
Just quit.
Not enough oxygen.
When the T-38 lost all power it just nosed over.
As I picked up some speed, the engines began to windmill.
At about 50,000' I got a relight on the left one.
The right one fired up around 45,000'.
Good to go.
That was definitely back in my wilder, younger, 'bulletproof' days.
Thank you for sharing that. It's amazing what people can do, and you did something completely amazing. How did that feel to fire up those engines like that?
I love cars, I can only imagine how it felt to have a PLANE in your hands capable of such things.
WOW. That is truly amazing.
trof
(54,256 posts)I had finished all my training and check rides to get my USAF wings, but had a few days to kill before our official graduation ceremonies.
I got a phone call one morning from my training squadron commander.
"I want you down here on the flight line in one hour suited up and ready to go."
yessir
I couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong.
I'd completed all the requirements.
When I reported to the CO, he gave me a big grin.
"Lieutenant, you've completed the syllabus but in checking you records we show you 1.5 hours shy of the minimum number of flight hours necessary to graduate. Here's your tail number. Go log 1.5 hours."
"Yes sir. Any particular mission?"
"Nope. Knock yourself out. Just log 1.5 hours."
So that's how I got turned loose with a T-38 for and hour and a half on a sunny Oklahoma morning.
Ready4Change
(6,736 posts)I'm a private pilot, and got checked out for flying aerobatics. So I've done about 40 hours of loops, rolls, inverted flight, etc. But imagining what you did on that flight gives me chills. I'm deeply envious!
trof
(54,256 posts)In fact, I've been paid for every minute my butt was strapped to an airplane.
I was just in the right place at the right time.
Joined the Alabama Air National Guard in March, 1963.
Took a series of written tests, flight physical, got a security clearance, and and became a 2nd Lt. with a slot in a USAF pilot training class slated for August, 1963.
No boot camp, no basic, no drill sergeant screamin' at ya', no push-ups, no nuthin'.
Just raised my right hand and swore to 'protect and defend' and there I was...an Officer and a Gentleman.
As a Second Balloon, the first time I strapped on a T-37 in pilot training, Uncle was paying me $500 a month for the privilege. Sweet.
Back at my home unit, after graduation, I still got paid for all my duty there.
Later went with TWA and, of course, got paid for that too.
Swell.
Like I said.
Lucky.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)Daddy was a mechanic in the USAF and retired out in 73. He was very petite and could fit in the tightest spots. Because of his natural ability, he pulled duty in the most god forsaken SAC posts. The bright spot is that I sometimes got to sneak in and he would show me around those high dollar experimental toys. I loved going in on Saturday mornings with him. He taught me the names of the tools. He would be wedged in say a wing shouting out for me to hand him a tool. It saved him time and space as I was small enough to get into some of those places with him.
Just think, your plane may have been repaired by a guy and his 6 yo assistant My Dad did great work-he was a real stickler for details. Funny, I had forgotten about that until reading your post.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)You kick ass, Trof AL is right next door to me in MS.
I have always wanted to get me some jet speed. But I am to old now. Back when I was younger, I just putted around in the back of a turbo prop courtesy of the Navy. Oh, I did see some natives on islands with their tops off (male and female).
HeiressofBickworth
(2,682 posts)Back in the early days of the Women's Movement, when there was much discussion of exercising one's liberation, I decided on a very symbolic act. I was too practical to waste my meager salary burning a perfectly wearable bra so I went to the grocery store one evening in nothing but a light flowing rain coat and a pair of flat shoes. Nothing underneath. There was something freeing about all the fresh air under the coat and no one but me knowing that I was without the usual accoutrements expected of a decent young lady. I giggled to myself as I picked out a few purchases. It was a small gesture to be sure -- never did break any decency laws -- but I knew that under that lavender A-shaped, light-weight, beltless, floating coat was nothing but shameless nudity. And I LOVED IT!! I laughed about it for days.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Quiet victories are no less victories .
crunch60
(1,412 posts)when we stopped for dinner on the way home, he was quite surprised.
frogmarch
(12,162 posts)9 months pg, I saved a 10-year-old boy from drowning at a lake. I was strolling alone along the shoreline and saw him go under. I was sure hed become caught in a deep hole Id known was there, so when he disappeared under the water and didnt pop right back up, I dived in fully clothed. In the hole I went up and down and up and down, groping around till I found him, then tore away the weeds that were wrapped around him, and with great effort (he was struggling frantically), brought him up. He later said hed been so confused, he didnt know up from down, or what had hold of him. The next day, on the other side of the lake, a 5 year-old boy fell off the boat dock. A couple of men dived in to get him, but they couldnt find him. I dived in and found him caught in weeds under a boat a few boats away, probably washed there by waves from passing motorboats. He was nearly drowned, but after a couple of days in the hospital, he was okay. My daughter was born that night. This was 40+ years ago. I never returned to the lake, and as far as I know, no one has drowned or nearly drowned there since. Im not superstitious, but oh, well, never mind.
Edit: has, not as.
You are a true hero. Only a person with a heart of iron and courage of steel would do such a thing while endangering their own life, and that of their child.
I'm speechless. You are an amazing human being, and I'm so glad you shared that with everyone.
frogmarch
(12,162 posts)was risking the life of my unborn baby. I don't remember thinking, period, just reacting. I was in good physical shape, and despite the fact that my daughter weighed almost 8 lbs. when she was born, I'd never gotten very big. I was a water rat from a very young age and had been a lifeguard in my teens, so I wasn't afraid for myself. If I'd thought about the fact I'd be endangering my baby by going in, I really don't know what I'd have done. As it was, it turned out well for everyone, thank goodness.
crunch60
(1,412 posts)Lucky for the little boy that you are in the first category.
crunch60
(1,412 posts)frogmarch
(12,162 posts)I kept the two boys from drowning, but I never thought of myself as a hero, but thank you. I've always been "act now" person in emergency situations, but under ordinary circumstances, I'm not like that at all. I take my time and think things through. I make pro-con lists, even. Anyway, I'll bet every person here, including yourself, would have reacted the same way I did, and would have gone after those boys.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)what a wonderful story. I have had the privilege of saving several lives and teach a student CPR that saved her brother's life. I know hospital Nurses that go all their lives and never have to respond in such a way, but I, a School Nurse have.
I too make pro and con lists and will deliberate before making a decision, but in a crisis situation I act with what seem and feels like instinct. But when I reflect back, my mind made many calculations before I reacted, just as I do when I deliberate. It was no mistake I went right instead of left because I had glanced at the left and saw an obstacle but my calculation were so instantaneous.
People have come back and told me how calm and methodical I was during the crisis, while everyone was screaming or too shocked to move. I get the post adrenaline shakes real bad-but that is afterward-once I know all is well. I am glad you were there for those two boys (I believe God arranges these things-but again that is just me). I never think much of it either, I just did what I could do when I needed to. In fact, I rarely mention it.
But I remember my then little girl telling me how proud she was of her hero Mommy. She has grown up to save others through her actions and charitable deeds and I hope I was her example. She always likes to remind me that 'he who saves a live save the whole world'.
You saved the world .....TWICE. That is a live well lived.
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)truedelphi
(32,324 posts)Just what name did you give that new species?
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)The most distinguished co-author was a world renowned expert on the Cestoda.
He also had a specimen from another location in the world. HE picked the name of the genus, the first name...
My advisor and I got to pick the species name...which meant side by side ovaries...
I humbly suggested that the genus name might be a bit dicey...the world expert said if they can't take a joke, screw....
truedelphi
(32,324 posts)Well, that is one you can sure tell the grandkids about - once they are old enough!
Aerows
(39,961 posts)LMFAO
:ROFL:
Sorry, don't mean to fall out laughing, but that is really pretty awesome!
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)the tapeworm with the ...
It's actually based on an anatomical feature, it was one of the weirdest accomplishments with which to be associated
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I'm still laughing
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)The one time you can be creative is when you name a new species.
I always cracked up thinking about "Constrictor constrictor" and "Gorilla gorilla".
Yeah, I'm easily amused.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)my friend
This is a good community, and I like that we can celebrate our accomplishments.
sakabatou
(42,207 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)I had a 104 fever for two days with Chicken pox. I was so messed up in my mind, they were afraid my brains got baked. I survived. So did you.
I hope we can both celebrate that fact and be thankful for those around us.
sakabatou
(42,207 posts)I do.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I survived. I hallucinated from fever for half a day.
What is your lasting damage, if you don't mind my asking? I believe I successfully weathered the storm, though it was a close call.
Response to Aerows (Reply #89)
sakabatou This message was self-deleted by its author.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I'm sorry to hear you had such trauma. Please let me know if I can do anything to help, Sakabatou
era veteran
(4,069 posts)Not as accomplished as this;
Nice
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)because I got drunk with my boyfriend's mom the night before. this is in 1979 when she was all the rage. i cried for two days not a proud accomplishment by any means, but an accomplishment of sorts. also published two poems in an anthology.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)You have an opportunity to do it again . You live, breathe and can do anything.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)so I may write her and tell her my sad tale. perhaps she will take pity on me
Yavapai
(825 posts)on a smaller training hill. The first time the straps were adjusted incorrectly, which applied all my weight directly to my "family jewels". I was in so much pain that I couldn't get back onto the ground quick enough. My Friends who were teaching me asked how I liked the flight and I was unable to remember anything but the pain.
Soooo, I agreed to try it a second time, and this time all the supporting straps were put on correctly. From the moment I was airborne it was an absolutely terrifying experience. My perception of my altitude was such that I was sure that I was going to scape off those same "family jewels" on the rocks and brush that I was actually at least 50 feet above.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Before I leave this life, I will hang glide and rock climb. That's beautiful.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)It looks like a hell of a ride, and I regret that I did not do it when I had the opportunity. My girlfriend at the time would not let me. I think that's why she's not my girlfriend anymore, to tell you the truth.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)I was at a brand new Club Med. All the girls walked down the street to the State owned beach and went parasailing. The guys were too chicken.
Cost all of 300 pesos. I was there when they closed down the banks in 1982.
FloriTexan
(838 posts)I petitioned to extend a bus route in my town so that it went a mile further. Just a mile, but it was a benefit to many people. They put it right where I suggested, including the new starting point of the route which, coincidently and conveniently, was right outside my apartment gate. One minor flaw. The bus parked and waited for the proper time to embark on its mission, sometimes for half and hour, right beside the in/out driveway to the apartments and when it was there you couldn't see around it to see oncoming traffic in order to make a left-hand turn on the street. Well, one guess who got hit by a suburban driving on the blind side of the bus?
Aerows
(39,961 posts)That isn't your fault for advocating for more routes, that is the driver's fault!
Rainforestgoddess
(436 posts)Last year I managed to prevent a Japanese transgendered youth from committing suicide. He had been an exchange student at our house, and sent ME a farewell note in the wee hours one night. Being half way around the world, I got the message at a decent hour, and through facebook, rallied the troupes, contacting all of his friends and relatives - including his cousin in New York, who phoned Japan, and woke up his parents.
He came out to his parents after that, and will be having gender reassignment surgery in the near future. Happy story.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)That is a wonderful thing to have accomplished .
crunch60
(1,412 posts)arbusto_baboso
(7,162 posts)A drunken bet. My buddies said they'd pay for my meal at a Denny's if I would "French the French's" and down the remainder of the jar (about half of it).
I was drunk enough to take them up on it.
I won.
There were no repercussions the next day, oddly enough.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I wouldn't suspect there would be repercussions, but then again, I love mustard too.
arbusto_baboso
(7,162 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)I won't take that away from you. I'm sure it was harsh.
Thank you for sharing your accomplishment, and I think it is pretty amazing that a person could eat a jar of mustard.
Ptah
(33,057 posts)I incubated, fed, innoculated, watered, chased, corraled, and exhibited a flock of
White leghorn to maturity.
Slaughtered 45 of the roosters, collected eggs for months and
couldn't sell them because all our neighbors had chickens too. DUH!
I did win Blue Ribbons for the few of the flock I took to the County Fair.
Those are awesome!
No doubt blue ribbon winning . That rooster looks like a devil! Your hen looks beautiful.
Ptah
(33,057 posts)My poultry were in 1961 or 1962.
When I was young.
That's me, burning my hand.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Ptah
(33,057 posts)So you survived being gorgeous.
I did too
mysuzuki2
(3,521 posts)it was a near thing.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Glad you are with us. Now regale us with tales of your near misses - it would cheer a bunch of us up
mysuzuki2
(3,521 posts)wow man, the colors!
NRaleighLiberal
(60,041 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)MMMM... I have some purple dragon carrots that are growing .
I love garden fruits and vegetables. Purple dragon carrots have a delicious taste.
http://nicolepeyrafitte.com/blog/2008/11/07/purple-dragon-carrots/
WestMichRad
(1,350 posts)NRLib is widely regarded and respected for that, deservedly so.
But I still can't get NRLib to come to MI to sample my heirloom varieties in my collection, which perform differently in this climate than they do in NC. You don't know what you're missing, NRLib!
NRaleighLiberal
(60,041 posts)bluevoter4life
(788 posts)Quite an accomplishment if you ask me
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I survived Tampa/St. Pete traffic for 5 years and didn't go insane :/
bluevoter4life
(788 posts)Dysfunction Junction, and the Howard Frankland Bridge are the WORST.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)glad we both survived it.
I still think that 9 out of every 10 drivers were thinking of killing other drivers, committing suicide, or contemplating that living life in diapers would be better than fighting it out on that particular stretch of road every day.
I drove it enough that I am not sure which category I fell into, and I had a really nice car.
meeksgeek
(1,214 posts)All the way from Portland, OR to Charlotte, NC. Three days. ~2800 miles. Longest stop was one hour. Fast food all the way. Never again.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Should have it's own category. I did. I drank Strawberry Daiquiris the whole way, and it was only a 60 minute drive in a car that was a ridiculous 5 hour affair on the bus.
We were lit as could be once we arrived, though, and it ended up being a conversation piece LMAO.
meeksgeek
(1,214 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)But I didn't have to poop in the bus bathroom, either, after all of those daquiris.
I think I'd prefer to be staked out in the desert, covered with honey and ants before I'd ride a Greyhound for 2800 miles.
chknltl
(10,558 posts)Halo: Reach. Beat all but the final mission on legendary mode difficulty, WITHOUT DIEING! Documented it too by recording these missions into my X-BOX 360's memory. Ask any fan of Halo, they will either say "BS!!1!"... or say impossible but I have the proof. It is true.....chknltl has no life.
Evoman
(8,040 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)in about 15 days of it being released, along with other fellow DUers .
kentauros
(29,414 posts)I drove my father's (used) '69 Chevy pickup down the covered walkway at the back of the school. There was just enough clearance overhead and for the two mirrors to make it the full length.
Needless to say, this was on a weekend, the "security" was non-existent, and I was with my other "wild & crazy" weird friends
We also used that truck to pick up illegally-dumped appliances and then throw them out the back on the same dumped-upon roads, while going about fifty. We also had one friend with a stereo recorder making recordings of the bounces and Doppler shifts
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)Miss Linda said so!
madmom
(9,681 posts)navy, I went to visit. We came up with this great idea that I would sleep on the floor in her barracks, it was the weekend, we figured it would be safe, lol, NOT! I was never so scared in my life as when her CO came in, I kind of rolled under the bed and held my breath. Later was in bathroom with feet up, another close call. This was back in the 70's. I still haven't told my parents about this, this was just part of a very, shall we say interesting, weekend.
Danmel
(4,943 posts)Not sure if it is weird. Didn't win, but didn't embarrass myself.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)A Jeopardy contestant here on DU
backwoodsbob
(6,001 posts)balanced 14 quarters on my elbow and caught them all in my hand
kentauros
(29,414 posts)Still pretty good, though
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Centaur friend, perhaps you are right.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)It'd be fun! And you don't have to drink a thing to know a bar trick
Aerows
(39,961 posts)But I can stack pennies and do it
alarimer
(16,245 posts)I'm not sure you can call it a cast.
Whether that is an accomplishment or not, I'll let everyone else be the judge.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Crabs, yes, got some oysters, but catching fish with a pole? Sadly, I've tried a lot and couldn't catch one. At least I'm good at other things.
Behind the Aegis
(54,074 posts)Both were drug related. I had busted two people (at different times) for trafficking. Both ended up with the FBI getting involved. I took care of the first one. The idiot that placed the first hit made the mistake of calling someone who hired someone I had slept with. The real thing that probably saved me is they liked me much more than the person who called for the hit. LOL! The second one was much more scary. Let's just say, once I figured out where he was and what he had done, I made a few calls of my own. I was really slutty when I was younger and hotter and had some, let's call them, "creative" friends. Just to keep everyone's mind at ease, no one died, but both are still in jail.
If that's too intense....
I once spoke on the steps of the state capitol in South Carolina on gay and lesbian rights. In front of 2000 people, I delivered a wonderful speech about GLBT equality...right up until the end, when, in my nervous state, I gave out home phone number! LOL!
Baitball Blogger
(46,787 posts)Aerows
(39,961 posts)Not much else I can say except that "You have accomplished much!" my friend
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)I was only about 22 and a newly hired Teaching Assistant. I was invited to the house of the department chairman for a party welcoming the new T.A.s. His house was way up in the steep hills above Laguna Beach and I had never been there. The paved road I was following soon turned into dirt and then mud as it started to rain and nighttime came. Soon I was completely lost and there were no signs to guide me. The road at times skirted deep ravines and visibility was nil. After many frustrating minutes, I noticed the traction improving under the wheels of my van. I opened the door to see what I was driving on and I was surprised to find that it was grass. I kept going forward at a slow pace and soon I noticed the outlines of two houses between which I was driving. I passed the window of one house, no more than ten feet to my left and noticed a lighted kitchen. A women in the kitchen turned to look at me slowly driving by with a frozen look of shock, as though I might be driving a flying saucer. I eventually drove across the front yard and over the sidewalk and curb and found myself on a paved road with street lights. Somehow in the rain and darkness I had made my way into a new housing development and had driven completely across the backyard and side of a house and across the front lawn. I did manage to find my way out and make it to the party.
WiffenPoof
(2,404 posts)...in 1980. Well, in Freestyle that is.
-P
sinkingfeeling
(51,501 posts)Bluzmann57
(12,336 posts)But I got drunk and rode a mini bike across a nine hole golf course without getting hit by a golf ball. And a few people tried. Never got arrested either. Whew! The sins of our youth.
I am now older and allegedly wiser.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)"Allegedly"
Bluzmann57
(12,336 posts)and shit like that.
MrsBrady
(4,187 posts)I work with kids, and it's fun to mess with them with that.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)How much can you wiggle them? I bet they laugh out loud at that!
Awesome.
GaYellowDawg
(4,452 posts)I was a bass bell clinician at the Area VI AGEHR handbell festival.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I don't know what that is, but it sounds fun. Can you give us a history of bass bell clinicians, so that we may properly appreciate your talent?
GaYellowDawg
(4,452 posts)It just means that I taught bass handbell ringing techniques at a 6 state convention.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)Ok, he didn't know he was in a race. I caddied at a fancy golf club where joggers were not allowed. One Sunday morning I was chasing some carts and there was a jogger on the course - the fastest jogger I ever saw. I was wondering why he didn't get kicked off. So I was hustling to forecaddy on 12 and he was going parallel with me on the other side of the fairway. So I'm like, It's on, fucker. So I turn on the jets and sprint about 200 yards, beating him by a few yards. Then I stop (cause I had to see where my golfers balls were going to go), and he keep running for another hour or two.
Found out after the fact that it was Sebastian Coe, English miler who was training for the Olympics with the cross country coach in my hometown.
IDemo
(16,926 posts)CottonBear
(21,598 posts)IDemo
(16,926 posts)My system involves adding up the days from Sunday, Jan. 31, 1899 and dividing out the highest factor of 7. I've factored out the years and months so it all comes down to adding small numbers and subtracting the next lowest multiple of 7. Today (June 19, 2012) would equal (4 + 19 + 0) - 21 for 2, a Tuesday.
It boils down to adding up small numbers for year/month/date and subtracting out 7's. The days of the week are numbered: 1 = Monday (think "One-day" , Tuesday = 2 ("Twos-day" , Wednesday = 3 (the W placed sideways looks like a 3), 4 = Thursday (4 kinda looks like a t), 5 = Friday (both begin with f and rhyme), Saturday = 6 (think sixpack!), Sunday = 7 or 0.
The months are numbered:
January = 0
February = 3
March = 3
April = 6
May = 1 (think Mayday)
June = 4
July = 6
August = 2 ("too hot"
September = 5
October = 0 (easy)
November = 3 (Thanksgiving and 3 begin with th)
December = 5
July 4 and Halloween are always on the same day of any given year: 6 + 4 - 7 = 3, and 0 + 31 - 28 = 3. Christmas is always a 2: 5 + 25 - 28, so the 4th will be on a Wednesday this year (a "zero year" and Christmas on a Tuesday.
I won't get into figuring out the year indexes unless you're not completely confused by now!
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Starting with my index finger, and the tap the valleys and peaks of my knuckles. You can determine the days of the month with this. March is 31, September is 30
LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)Summer of 1970, Highland Park, NJ.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Do you still sell those big red white and blue Popsicles? They are my favorite.
LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)and that was 42 years ago.
I don't recall selling red-white-and-blue popsicles. We just had the regular orange, grape, etc. twin popsicles.
Come to think of it, I haven't seen an ice cream truck in years.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)about 13 seasons on Madden 09 & NCAA Football 09. The series together are great because you can draft players onto your Madden from NCAA football. I did that until I ran into some sort of glitch trying to upload my 2021 draft class.
I won had (I think) 3 Heisman trophy winners and they were all running backs, one from my third year at SMU(He was hella fast, I used him about 90% of my plays either running or using him as a receiver-never had a player quite as successful though I had more balanced teams later in my coaching career) and the rest at Arizona State. Bored after I won another National title I quit to coach a lesser school in Colorado State(that would send shock waves in real life-a successful coach leaving a big time program for a non-BCS school). I won my first Heisman trophy w/ a WR in his senior season, 4th year coaching Colorado State. That is when the glitch hit. I was also vying to become the first non-BCS school to win the National Championship(2021-never happened) but I had 1-loss early in the season then I lost to San Diego State(they were a quality non-BCS school by 2021) then got hammered by Oregon in the Armed Forces Bowl.
ashling
(25,771 posts)ate 7 9 inch pies in 6 minutes - got interviewed by the Clarion Ledger
that was 40 years ago
*seven* pies in one sitting.
Your innards must be made of stainless steel. That is pretty impressive. How did you feel the next day, if I may be so bold to ask.
ashling
(25,771 posts)One of my frat brothers announced it to the class. I just sat there sort of bloated. My Professor just slowly shook his head and laughed.
After class I went back to the frat house and as soon as I laid down on the couch the phone rang. It was my uncle passing through on his way to New Orleans to visit my mom and he wanted ti take me out for lunch. He took me to Primo's and bought me a hamburger - I took one small bite of my hamburger and couldn't even think of eating anything else. He just slowly shook his head and laughed.
By the next day I was ready to do it all over again.
You, my friend, have a hollow leg. OMG, that's hilarious