I literally almost just died

While running from authorities (a long, long time ago) in CT, I came to a bridge I needed to cross... Problem is, the bridge was in place solely for the train... It was winter time and the water - some 50 feet below - looked awfully cold... So I start running across the bridge, trying to keep my feet from slipping between the wooden boards underneath the tracks... And what do you know...? The train is coming ...towards me, from the direction in which I'm headed...! It was a ridiculous game of chicken, but I managed to make it to land before the train passed through the bridge... I got all the way home and hid in the attic and when the authorities finally got there, my uncle gave me up without a fight. What a day.

 

Did you ever see the movie Stand By Me? There was one scene with a similar situation, but the train was behind the kid. Anyway, I wouldn't have jumped in the water either because I'm a much better runner than I am a swimmer.

 

I'm a great swimmer (not to toot my own horn), but I won't get in any water if it's under 80 degrees... Running or running back were my only options...

 

What had you done to be on the run?

 

Be glad you missed the Rizzo years:

"Stop or I'll ..." BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! "... shoot".

("... officers fired three warning shots into the suspect's chest ...")


Walnut in the U-city area has the problem that people just got past the station, and are taking a break from watching for pedestrians.

In my day, you had to pick out a car, make eye contact with the driver, and give him a look like you were going to do a "Hellboy" on his hood if he didn't stop for you.

Of course, back then, Honda Civics were the size of carry-on luggage.

--
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil
for I'm the baddest S.O.B. in the valley

 

Ah, but as a born and raised Philly suburbs guy, I LiVED the Rizzo years. You can't imagine how nice and peaceful the city was back then..... No troubles at all....

I had a couple of buds down at UPENN back in the mid 70's, and would regularly make weekend forays into the heart of the city.

Yep....those were the days.....Pat's Steaks at 4 AM, just the hookers, cops and us, all living in harmony..... gun shots in the distance.....no one flinched, and the police were certainly not going to leave behind a half eaten "cheese with" to head off after the noise.

The Pat's run would only come after a long evening of swilling beer at the speakeasy in the basement of the class of 23 dorm, or at Smokey Joes, or Phi Kap, or at any place likely to serve us. Boy, those were the days.. I wonder sometimes how I lived through it...

Philadelphia is a great city. Truly under appreciated. We're doing it a disservice with all this bashing. My oldest son is at Drexel, dodging bullets and getting $75 parking tickets as we speak. HE LOVES IT THERE!! REALLY!!!

Dave M.

 

That was back when Philly had a bit of an edge. Back when the mayor (Wilson Goode) decided to bomb the "Move" house on 46th and Osage.

 

It would seem the originator of this thread literally almost was hit by car. I was hit by a car when I was in HS, I was skateboarding down the road and a guy made a right hand turn into me. I had a few bruises and scuffs,that's all. Here is a near death story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060126/ap_on_re_us/mine_explosion_survivor

 

A very sad piece of Philadelphia history. It was 1985 when that happened.

The Africa family, all the members of move had the last name Africa, had decided to build a fortress in the middle of Osage Avenue residential homes. Instead of dealing with it carefully, when they started, the city left them alone for a long time. It resulted in a lot of distress for the neighbors, as they were not the best housekeepers, and tended to disrupt the neighborhood at all hours of the day and night.

What started as an attempt to evict them from the home ending up buring about 3 or 4 square blocks of Powelton Village, as that area is called. Police dropped a bomb on the roof of the house, the fire got out of control, and burned all day.

When it was over, the city rebuilt the neighborhood, only to have the replacement homes eventually declared a hazard by the codes inspectors of the city.

Really a bad deal for the folks from the neighborhood, and the 11 (if memory serves) members of the Africa family (including women and children) who died in the fire.

Not exactly a proud moment in history for Philly.

 

My history teacher was in the area coaching, and some cops came to him and told him to get him and the team behind the school bus that was there. And then he heard the explosion. If I remember there was only one survivor, and he is a truck driver now.

 

I had a similar road experience where a car sped past me over 50 mph on a turn, hit the curb & flipped up in the air over my car. Came to rest on its roof behind me. The 3 kids were alive but all bloody. It was before cell phones so I called an ambulance & police from a near by house. I can see the top of that car as it flew over me right now as clear as yesterday.

 

... as long as you were careful not to make any sudden moves. (There was one incident where an epileptic was shot by Phila cops because he looked "threatening".)

In ye olde days, people didn't mess with denizens of the orange brick buildings -- not after one experiment gone bad converted half the city's power from AC to DC. (Okay, AC at about 3 Hz.) (Drexel '78.)

The original "Move" house was in Powelton Village in 1977, right across from a Drexel dorm. The 1985 fire was in the Osage Av area of West Phila. Both locations were marked by intentionally confrontational behaviour, including bullhorn profanities at all hours of the night.

A group of illiterates, supplied with bullhorns, body armor, and about $30K worth of automatic weapons -- The "move" group were merely pawns of a particularly slimy variety of city backroom politics.

 

glad your ok !!!!!
sounds like bruce and noah again, bruce is always chasing after noah in phila looking to beat the crap out of him.

 

But this time I got away...

 

I was innocent, I tell you, innocent...!!!

 

Ever heard of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

 

cheating death? welcome to the club. I probably have most, wait i take that back, i have THE best cheating death experiences.

 

Glad you're okay, but I don't think people realize how close they come to death every single time they're on the highway! One second of not paying attention can easily kill you. Amazing there aren't more deaths than there already are. :/

 

......and one of them is......??

Go for it!

 

I was thinking the same thing... I have one or two near-death stories - I'm sure you do, too, Mark - especially having been a racecar - we should start a new thread - I would love to hear the stories you could tell... How 'bout it...?

 

Well, once i got heating oil in my lungs. they were thinking of collapsing a lung and taking it out. the story is a long one so i won't go into detail.

One night in the city of industry i saw an parked car with the lights on and driver's door wide open but nobody on the street as far as i could see in front of this old empty industrial building. I got out to check it out, mind you it is dead quiet, at about 8pm mid week. I get to the car and find it is gutted. I hear my phone ring, so i walk back to my car to get my cell, but as i get out of the abandoned car, a semi hits it and i am tossed on my butt by the wake.

Another time i caught two ricochets in my left arm, one hit a vein and I had to walk two miles across the mojave desert to get back to the car to drive another 45 minutes to get to the hospital. I bled a LOT and passed out a few times. I ended up getting two transfusions before i could go home.

august 20th of 2005 i had chemical poisoning at my mother's wedding. my pulse was weak and blood pressure dropped, if i remember correctly 120/28. i sat down to rest and woke up with a paramedic prepping to give me chest compressions.

there was also a time when i was working on the electrical side of a movie crew, and the cables shorted out on me and i had my heart stop from a nice jolt.

and finally, here is one of many near death car wrecks, i flipped a suzuki samurai at 30mph on a wet road, no seat belt, head broke the windshield, driver's window, and cracked the curb (there was some hair, blood and tissue of mine on the curb). Car split in half and I was mashed between the sammy and the hood of a bronco and flew 30 feet from the scene.

i have done a few other car wrecks with fireballs and more chemical poisoning, but you guys get the point

 

something tells me you need to become the next bubble boy Tim....

 

When I was in Cross Country in high school, I almost got run over a few times. One of my teammates didnt get run over but he did get hit once. He wasnt hurt or anything but it wasnt funny.