Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The closest you've ever been to death?

Early 1980’s. B52H IR low level training route at night in the Rockies. Aircraft Commander Pilot (Major at the time) was a complete idiot and incompetent pilot who was eventually grounded and put behind a desk. Low level at TA (terrain avoidance) level all equipment working fine. Bombing / TA radar then fails which immediately requires a climb to safe IFR altitude. Pilot instructed to climb to IFR (safe) altitude but replies that he has good visibility and wants to stay at TA low level (so he can log and get credit for the low level time I suppose). We are in rapidly upsloping terrain at approximately 5000 to 6000’ MSL (mean sea level) with 12,000 to 14,000’ ridge lines about 10 miles out. Aircraft goes “Popeye” in total obscured clouds. Radar Nav commands the Pilot to immediately climb. We are at approximately 6000’ MSL & about 500’ above rapidly rising terrain heading for those 14,000 ridge lines about 10 miles away. B52H put into full throttle max rate climb while in totally obscured clouds with no radar. Aircraft breaks out of clouds in a maximum rate climb just as we have an 80’ crossover on the snow covered ridges. Nobody said anything about this after the mission because the Aircraft Commander was the one who was writing our OER’s (officer evaluation reports). He got his just due though after a later flight with the Squadron Commander flying with us as an observer in the jump seat. Another unsafe thing he did but that is another story.

For the last 2 1/2 years I've been on a slow decline thanks to an un-curable and in-operable cancer. I'm still looking down at the grass but I'm "aging" pretty fast. The rare cancer that I have is not treatable with chemo or radiation, and the location of the tumor makes it in-operable for a 73 year old man.

The good news is MD Anderson has kept me alive these 2.5 years with trial therapeutic drug treatments, but they too come with a physical price. There are no free lunches with cancer. One day at a time.........

It is what it is.

I shot myself in the face on two occasions. With a cyanide gun for coyotes. I’m a slow learner

Does having a pistol barrel at the back of my head, seven other weapons, laid across car hoods from the sheriff's officers that arrived for back up, and pointed at me, while being marched back up to my car after being handcuffed, and hoping the 8 month old lab on the front seat didn't spook Officer High and Tight Haircut into pulling a trigger count?

All on a case of mistaken identity.

Not sure, and didn't care at the time, if the orders were lawful or not. I was outnumbered and they had superior firepower. I obeyed.

Or............

nah, I won't relate that one...................yet.

Saw that happen to our county trapper once. Buddy of mine and I both looked at each other thinking the same thing. This trapper guy is a big sob to have to haul back down to the pickup.

Luckily, he was using good technique setting it and had his hand turned, palm away and it hit his palm and deflected mostly away.

Ice fishing fell thru and could not climb out to deep to touch fortunately I was only 25 yards from the shore I swam under the ice and forced myself up between the bank and the edge of Ice. As for you guys that have had close calls with the trains, I have been an Engineer for 25 years, ironically most of the vehicles I see that dont make it have time to get across but look at me at the last minute and run a wheel off the pavement and get stuck. Kept in mind the train brakes dont come on until the after the impact.

Came close on a train once. Coming up to the tracks in the middle of the night. The lights were on but there weren't any cross poles. I look to the right and can see the train light way down the track. No big deal, I'll cross with hundreds of yards to spare.

I don't know what made me look left but I did and locked them up. Came to a stop just as the train came screaming through from my left. I was maybe 8-10 feet away. What I thought was the train light to my right was a porch light on a house.

They have cross poles there now.

Thanks for some very nice comments. They are much appreciated

I edited my first post above here. I couldn't do it where I originally posted yesterday. :

Thanks on my part going to where it rightfully resides for my excellent care and treatments. To MD Anderson Cancer Center.... not MA.....

At MDA they work their butt off to save you, and they throw everything humanely possible at cancer that they have available to them.. In my case, for some unknown reason, I won the "lotto" of rare cancers, or as one Dr. called it, " The red headed step child of extremely rare cancer tumors".........

Again, it is what it is.

That happened to me and a buddy once.

Same except we didn't get handcuffed.