Like most of you I've had my unlucky days, and my lucky days. I had a lot of luck when I was in my teens, and one of those stories goes like this...

I was 17 yo, and being an independent little farker, I was in Thailand (Pattaya) on an extended vacation by myself.
My routine consisted of getting drunk on Sang Thip and Krating Daeng, whatever people would give me and I would ride around like a real Hoon on 400cc-900cc motorcycles.
I was considered pretty cool among the locals, so I had an awesome time, a lot of free stuff and a lot of open doors.
Anyway being full of myself with the ignorance of youth, I believed I could ride a motorcycle way better than I could walk.
So in order to wake myself up from the inebriation of the night (so I could sleep without spewing) I would get on the bike and hoon around at ridiculous speeds 3-5 AM... and being the kind of person I was I'd do it with sunglasses (stop my eyes falling out) and no helmet... the adrenalin would literally snap me out of it.
There would be dogs sleeping on the road, those little food stalls walking back home and I'd pass them at ~200kmh.

One night I was at a set of traffic lights, and another guy on the same model bike (CBR 400 RR) pulls up.
Anyway we both knew what we had to do... so on green > full gas > 1st > 2nd > 3rd > 4th > 5th (didn't engage for me)... he pulls ahead and this is now on a slow bend... but the fool goes straight and right in to the side of a Ute type taxi.

My lucky break, was my 5th didn't engage, or otherwise we would have taken me out, as he cut right across my lane just in front of me.
Even though it was only a 400cc, the bike would hit ~220kmh, so we were going ~ 180kmh and it wouldn't have been pretty.

Youth Advice: We're all indestructible until the day reality hits you, and if your lucky you can be put back together so you can realize how stupid you were. So be smart now, don't impair your senses or situation awareness and do anything that takes you over 10kmh.
Not to mention this kind of behavior will get you locked up pretty much every where in the world now.


What lucky escapes have you had?

All most fell of a 45m cliff in the Victorian highlands when i was 10.

Drowned and resuscitated after my first ever emu export drinking experience at 13.

Got woken up whilst driving up the GN Highway by a fuel truck's wheel taking off my rear view mirror.

Hit the round-a-bout at the end of the M1 in Melbourne doing a 120km whilst asleep - woke up to seeing only sky in the windscreen to then seeing horizon and trees then cars coming to skidding stops. Managed to miss everything and every body.

Free Diving in Caves at X-mas island got disorientated whilst in a cave and couldn't find the exit. Got pulled out by a mate and received a lot of reefcuts up my back. no resuscitation needed this time though.

Held up at gunpoint in Vladivostok and relieved of my belongings after a vodka drinking session with some locals.

I found myself drunk in the middle of a bay in my tender surrounded by 100 other yachts while trying to find mine.....it was 3 am and pitch black cant actually remember finding my yacht when I woke up in my bed in the morning!

Coming home from a concert one night with friends in my car, I pulled up at some red lights. I used to enjoy taking off nice and quick as soon as the lights turned green, like taking off at the drags watching the xmas tree lights. This night though I sat day dreaming once it turned green and didn't go. Right as I did then take off, albeit only 1-2 seconds later, a friggen big semi tralier went straight through a red light and the intersection. If I had done my usual take off trick I would have been completely t-boned and wiped out as the truck was probably doing 80-100kmh. Scared the crap out of all us and has made me very wary now whenever I pull off from traffic lights some 25 years later.

^^
I remember the movie they made about you!

Only thing I couldnt figure out was how they drilled through the asteroid/meteor's incredibly hard rock- using a drillbit designed for soft rock.

I suppose tricone drill bits look better on screen than plain old hard rock bits.

stephen

poor relative said...
I stubbed my toe on a door trim once.
Luckily i didn't loose a nail.

You're lucky you didn't lose a nail too!

All here escaped from the lunatic asylum. Not sure if that was lucky or not.

NotWal said...
Youth Advice: "Your" is the possessive form of "You". "You're" is a contraction of "You are".

Lol, I know the difference, sometimes my fingers have a mind of they're own.

When I was in the US Navy and stationed in Charleston South Carolina, outside the base was a very rough black neighborhood of public housing projects. One night three of us out getting drunk somehow found ourselves in the stupid position of walking back to the base in the early morning hours. Maybe 1/2 mile ahead coming towards us were a gang of black hoodlums, we crossed the street, 1/4 mile and closing they crossed the street and coming right at us, 100 yards we crossed the street again and so did they, 20 yards away facing imminent doom suddenly a Navy van pulled up beside us and the driver said "you guys want a ride?" we piled in so fast not believing our dumb luck.

Beaglebuddy said...
When I was in the US Navy and stationed in Charleston South Carolina, outside the base was a very rough black neighborhood of public housing projects. One night three of us out getting drunk somehow found ourselves in the stupid position of walking back to the base in the early morning hours. Maybe 1/2 mile ahead coming towards us were a gang of black hoodlums, we crossed the street, 1/4 mile and closing they crossed the street and coming right at us, 100 yards we crossed the street again and so did they, 20 yards away facing imminent doom suddenly a Navy van pulled up beside us and the driver said "you guys want a ride?" we piled in so fast not believing our dumb luck.

Did you consider turning around?

FlySurfer said...

Beaglebuddy said...
When I was in the US Navy and stationed in Charleston South Carolina, outside the base was a very rough black neighborhood of public housing projects. One night three of us out getting drunk somehow found ourselves in the stupid position of walking back to the base in the early morning hours. Maybe 1/2 mile ahead coming towards us were a gang of black hoodlums, we crossed the street, 1/4 mile and closing they crossed the street and coming right at us, 100 yards we crossed the street again and so did they, 20 yards away facing imminent doom suddenly a Navy van pulled up beside us and the driver said "you guys want a ride?" we piled in so fast not believing our dumb luck.

Did you consider turning around?

We were so close to the main gate, turning around was like heading back into the jungle. Also turning around is like turning tail, it would have quickly turned into a footrace.
Lot's of sailors had been rolled on this street but there was still a slight chance we could pass by, just trying to keep our cool and appear streetwise.