The Eastern Diamondback Rattler that had bitten Steve was now coiled six inches in front of my left foot, though the realization of what had happened was only just dawning. The snake was big. Really big. Its body was about four inches thick. Because it was coiled, I couldn't know how long it was, but having seen many of them before, I knew it was in the vicinity of six feet.
One of the defining moments of my life. I was 8, maybe 9?
Having given Steve my belt to use for a constricting band as we hurried back to his house was said by the doctor to have likely saved his leg, if not his life. The newspaper article that came out didn't mention that, but I was proud of the fact that my Boy Scout training had borne fruit in such dramatic fashion.
The event helped cement for me the value of learning, and keeping a cool head when things go south.
I'm glad there are realively few times when things go south. And I thank God I can count on my faith to help me through them.
A few years later, when I was in high school, another incident reminded me how closely death rides by our side. It was a crash. I was in a car hit by a runaway semi truck, and literally inches from being crushed.
The ill-advised suddenness of the left turn by our driver put us directly in the path of the truck, coming fast from behind. It caught the left front of our car and slammed us back into the lane we were turning from as it sped by. From my vantage point in the back seat behind the driver, I watched the 18-wheeler's tires roll by, inches from my face.
A difference of a half second would have given this story a very different ending.
Why didn't our driver see it coming? She was distracted - more interested in talking to her front-seat passenger than checking her rear-view mirror.
It's easy to say how fragile life is. Some understand the concept on a more visceral level.
You can be sure these are NOT those who view driving as a distraction from their cell phone, or are quick to forgive those who do.
