The experience I experienced yesterday-March 29,2011- was like none that was ever experienced before, well that is not completely true, I have had kinda the same type experience, but different!
The Boy
This is a true story unless my Mother and Dad told a lie, and I don't think that they did! My Dad is still living so I called him to get the facts correct. "Hey do you remember the story that you tell about me getting my head stuck in a milk can?
Yeh, I remember! Wish we 'd never got it out! HaHa!
You wouldn't know how old I was, would you?
Nope, can't remember.
How big was the can?
Ten gallons, no that doesn't sound right, had too be bigger then that!
How big was it?
Don't remember.
Had I started school yet or was it before I went to school?
Don't remember.
You aren't much help.
Shoulda left your head in it. HaHa
There you go, if the Devil is in the details-there's no Devil in this story!
As I think back to this story I am struck by the fact-Wow I was one smart child! Curious, intelligent, precocious, brain development way above my years, and smart too. Did I say smart? I mean smart!
The story goes, as I remember hearing it, that one day- back on the farm-it is always-back on the farm! Do they have big milk cans any place else? Some how "I" and for some reason "I". Why is it always "me"? The answer is--because I am so smart. Any way being the curious,precocious child that I was, I looked inside one of those big milk cans--that sounds so much better then GOT MY HEAD STUCK--and was unable to pull my head back out after carefully checking to see if said can was clean. I also inspected the welding bead for leaks and then was disturbed to discover that the opening had gotten smaller. Based on the conversation with my father no one really knows what happened after that, soooooooooooo!
This small boy with the big head is on his hands and knees with his big head stuck inside of a steel 40 gallon can used to ship raw milk to market. Because his big head and small body are blocking the light from entering the can it is dark in there and every time the big headed boy cries he hears echos vibrating inside his big head from the steel 40 gallon can used to ship raw milk to market! He tries to pull his big head out but his red raw ears and quivering chin hinder any progress. The boy hollers for Ma, and all he hears is MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! over and over again! Not a good time is being had. When help finally arrives the very distraught boy, the one with his head STUCK in the milk can hears a muffled, "How did you get your head stuck in the milk can? Just pull it out. I don't how he did it. That was stupid. Hold still! It won't come out! It's stuck on his ears. The rest of you kids get out of the way.Here's some Bag Balm, put it on the edge of the can, maybe it will slide out now. Who knows what he was thinking?
Some how, out comes the head! This head in the can-40 gallon milk can used to ship raw milk to market-experience will play a part in shaping a life.
The Teenager
Way, away back when I was not near as smart as I was as a child, I was still pretty smart. Must have been 19 years old, no I was twenty. Guess that's not a teenager any more, but this is my story! We, some friends and I were camping out in the woods. Kinda redundant isn't it? Where else would we be- Main St.-Home Town- USA. I had been given a mummy bag to sleep in and was glad to have it. Had never used a mummy bag before and thought it was cool to zip it up to my chin and tie the hood around my face, looked like a mummy! Always nice and warm,reminded myself of a big grub worm with no arms or legs, had to wiggle my whole body to move around. This one night as I was sleeping, some how I twisted all around and woke up with the bag turned around so my face was buried in the back of the hood and the zipper was on the opposite side from what I was used to. Pure panic as I opened my eyes and could not see or find the zipper to get out of this thing I was in. I remember that night like it was just last night, fear gripping my heart as I wiggled around not knowing where I was or what was happening to me. I was so terrified and trapped and confused, it still to this day sends chills all over when I think of how helpless I felt that night. I finally got out of the bag and crawled out of the tent. Remember standing out side breathing the cold air thankful to be alive, scared because I was sure I was going to die that night trapped in a mummy bag. I own and sleep in a mummy bag now, I love it for it's warmth and comfort but I never tie the hood- just can't do it. Another life shaping experience.
The Man
As many of you know I have had both knee joints replaced and am very happy with the new joints.In the last few weeks one of my legs has started giving problems, so I mentioned this to the knee Dr. who sent me to have a MRI and I will see a different Dr. next week to discuss the results of the MRI. Will keep you posted!
OK!!! MRI--Magnetic Resonance Imaging----is a painless way to look inside the body without using X-rays. Sounds good to me. I think I had one of these things many years ago, they had me lay on a table and be real still as a big thing was lowered down toward me and it stopped about two inches from my face.That was no big deal I just closed my eyes and lay still. I'm not real sure what happened yesterday!
They asked me if I was claustrophobic, well no. The definition is abnormal dread of being in closed or narrow spaces. That's not me!
I arrived at the MRI at 7:10am for my 7:15am appointment and the doors were locked. Not a good start! I could see people in the office so I knocked on the glass and at 7:15 I was let in, she said you must be for a MRI. They were ready for me so this was good. I had to take off my pants and put on a pair of dark blue paper shorts, a real fashion statement! She sat me down and asked all the normal questions, the most important answer being "Yes I am alive!" Let's just do it! She opens this big oversize door and we enter a room with a tube like thing in it, there is a narrow bed at the end of the tube and she tells me to lay down on the bed. I am getting this strange feeling all over me. I'll say it again- I'm not claustrophobic! Phobic is the fear of something, and claustro is I don't know what,but I ain't scared of it! She puts these headphones on my ears and I hear talk radio, which I requested so I could think as I lay there. This lady is good, next thing I know I am swooshing in this tube. My eyes are open for only a wink,but that is too much! There is no room in this thing and I start to come unglued, fall apart, freak out and panic!! A stream of cool air is blowing toward my face from my feet- don't pass gas-and I am sucking air through my nose in a feeble effort not to scream! Really I feel like I'm in a steel pipe and then someone, more than one someone starts beating on this steel pipe with heavy metal hammers.I breath hard and lay still and quote the 23th Psalm,"The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want." Inside my head I'm screaming but I do want,I want out of this thing!! I'm still being still wondering if I kick my feet up and down if she will let me out. Oh! I keep my eyes shut, and try to relax as the pounding just keeps on and on! "The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want." I want out, this is awful! Me being a grown man, and having my own personal hissy fit inside a metal tube with mean men pounding all around it. I can't take it any more! It gets quiet and I hear a voice say, "This will be about four minutes." Oh, my goodness it starts all over again. Quiet. "This will be about four and a half minutes." Not again! Yes, again! How many times do I hear that? I don't know, I'm worn to a frazzle;my head hurts, my teeth hurt, surprised I didn't have a heart attack! Quiet once again. Swoosh I'm out of there. Still have my eyes closed. She takes off the head phones and I open my eyes, start to sit up and stop because I'm not all together there yet. I look at this small tube and ask if my head was sticking out the other end she says no, but if I looked over my head I could see light."The Lord is my Shepard and I still want out!" I'm so glad I never opened my eyes. She told me to stop at the main desk on my way out, I left the dark blue shorts in the trash can and pulled mine back on. Then I slipped my feet into my shoes and headed out the door, this is when I realized why the shorts were a dark blue. The wet spot wouldn't show up and embarrass you! I stopped at the desk and told the Lady that I was glad that I didn't start every day like that. She just smiled and said,"Have a nice day." My wife was home and wanted to know how it went, I told her it was OK only loud. If I ever do that again they will have to put me out-COLD!!!!
The number one problem with this MRI was a lack of communication. A definition of terms. Me not asking any questions. They say claustrophobic- are you anxious about being in a confined space? My answer is no. If they had said claustrophobic- does it remind you of having a mummy hood wrapped around your head while it is stuck in a 40 gallon milk can used to ship raw milk to market while mean men pound on it with metal hammers. I would have limped out of that Drs. office as fast as my bum leg would have let me! Never to return!!
God is good!
I survived!
Turtle
