Share your scariest experience.

[Gator Hazard]

1).  Let's see, when I was about nine or ten my mom and I were home alone when we heard loud banging on our front door.  A woman was screaming for my mom to let her in as a man was walking up to the house as well.  My mom went and got the shotgun and had me call 911.  She was able to hold the shotgun at the window of the two people.  The guy tried to drag her away from the door and my mom told him to stop what he was doing.  He said something to the effect of "you wont shoot me" and my mom racked the slide and said she would, right through the window.  It was just crazy, people banging on your door all whacked out screaming and crying.  I was on phone with dispatcher and told them our address and who we were just fine.  It was after the police showed up that it hit me.

2).  I used to kick soccer balls against a wall in my backyard all the time, just practicing and getting better.  One night I was sitting home alone in our living room watching tv.  The couch is up against the wall that separates home from backyard.  The wall has three very large sliding glass windows right behind couch.  WHAM!!  Something black and white hits the window really hard and amazingly does not shatter it.  I saw black and white so instantly think someone is in my backyard and threw a soccer ball at window to break in.  My legs turned into spaghetti for about what was probably 3 or 4 seconds but felt a heck longer.  Actually I froze at first and was telling myself in my mind to get up and run and my legs would just not cooperate.  I did eventually.  When I realized that nothing else was happening I went back to window and looked out to see what was a black and white cat in the backyard.  Apparently the stupid cat tried to jump into our home through the window without realizing there was in fact a window.

3).  This is a bad story, and we as kids did a bad thing where thankfully no one got hurt or died.  So once upon a time I was a 12 or 13 year old boy with friends that age.  I was staying the night at my friends place in Las Vegas, I used to bike the 3 miles to his house.  Well he had some fireworks still and we decided to go play with them.  One of the things we thought would be fun to do was to shoot a rocket off of the overpass bridge on 95.  It was late at night.  We set the firework up, lit it and backed up.  Then we noticed a car coming down, it was sheer horror as we watched this rocket take off like a heat seeking missile right at the car.  It was a direct hit, the rocket hit the cars windshield, the car swerved and thankfully did not crash.  We ran as fast as we could back to my friends house.  I felt horrible even though was not my idea and i was not the one to light the fuse.  We got lucky, but that was scary, we really could have killed someone that night.

 

[Seals]

24 minutes ago, Gator Hazard said:

1).  Let's see, when I was about nine or ten my mom and I were home alone when we heard loud banging on our front door.  A woman was screaming for my mom to let her in as a man was walking up to the house as well.  My mom went and got the shotgun and had me call 911.  She was able to hold the shotgun at the window of the two people.  The guy tried to drag her away from the door and my mom told him to stop what he was doing.  He said something to the effect of "you wont shoot me" and my mom racked the slide and said she would, right through the window.  It was just crazy, people banging on your door all whacked out screaming and crying.  I was on phone with dispatcher and told them our address and who we were just fine.  It was after the police showed up that it hit me.

2).  I used to kick soccer balls against a wall in my backyard all the time, just practicing and getting better.  One night I was sitting home alone in our living room watching tv.  The couch is up against the wall that separates home from backyard.  The wall has three very large sliding glass windows right behind couch.  WHAM!!  Something black and white hits the window really hard and amazingly does not shatter it.  I saw black and white so instantly think someone is in my backyard and threw a soccer ball at window to break in.  My legs turned into spaghetti for about what was probably 3 or 4 seconds but felt a heck longer.  Actually I froze at first and was telling myself in my mind to get up and run and my legs would just not cooperate.  I did eventually.  When I realized that nothing else was happening I went back to window and looked out to see what was a black and white cat in the backyard.  Apparently the stupid cat tried to jump into our home through the window without realizing there was in fact a window.

3).  This is a bad story, and we as kids did a bad thing where thankfully no one got hurt or died.  So once upon a time I was a 12 or 13 year old boy with friends that age.  I was staying the night at my friends place in Las Vegas, I used to bike the 3 miles to his house.  Well he had some fireworks still and we decided to go play with them.  One of the things we thought would be fun to do was to shoot a rocket off of the overpass bridge on 95.  It was late at night.  We set the firework up, lit it and backed up.  Then we noticed a car coming down, it was sheer horror as we watched this rocket take off like a heat seeking missile right at the car.  It was a direct hit, the rocket hit the cars windshield, the car swerved and thankfully did not crash.  We ran as fast as we could back to my friends house.  I felt horrible even though was not my idea and i was not the one to light the fuse.  We got lucky, but that was scary, we really could have killed someone that night.

 

Your mom sounds like a beast. Glad she exercises her right to defend herself and her family. 

Now for the fireworks...

[Gator Hazard]

46 minutes ago, Seals said:

Your mom sounds like a beast. Glad she exercises her right to defend herself and her family. 

Now for the fireworks...

I remember thinking that my mom would not hesitate to shoot and kill him. This was about 30 years ago, I STILL woud not mess with my mom.

Yeah, that whole fireworks thing was wrong.  Hope he wasn't a vet and we gave him a flashback and more PTSD......or a heart attack.  

[colin007]

5 hours ago, Gator Hazard said:

I never knew, wow, so glad to hear you are okay.

Much appreciated.

Almost drowned at 2 and almost died of dysentery at 3 but I don't remember those obvs.

[Gator Hazard]

2 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Much appreciated.

Almost drowned at 2 and almost died of dysentery at 3 but I don't remember those obvs.

Interesting you bring that up, I almost drowned in Hawaii when I was 18.  Got rolled by a wave, came up, blew the air out and was greeted with a crest of another wave breaking on my forehead.  Tumbled me in the sandy water, I started to lose consciousness when I felt my foot touch the ground.  Was able to push up and take a breath.  Oddly, it was dare I say, a peaceful feeling, I don't know how to explain it.  Went and rented a boogey board since waves were getting big, and went right back out in the ocean.  

[JonMA1]

7 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Almost drowned at 2 and almost died of dysentery at 3 but I don't remember those obvs.

Those would be on your parents' list of scariest experiences, I'm sure.

[dennyjones]

5 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

Those would be on your parents' list of scariest experiences, I'm sure.

Nothing scarier for me than the threat of death of your child.   My daughter was diagnosed with liver failure and at the local hospital wasn't given a chance to live.   After 3 days in Ann Arbor, we received the good news that she would survive.   Nothing has scared me more or I believe, will.  

[NJpatbee]

For someone else: My 4 year old daughter had what appeared to a bad sore throat but her breathing got strained and about 2AM I rushed her to the hospital.  By the time we got there she was nearly unconscious and the ER determined quickly that she needed a tracheotomy and could die at any moment while we waited for the surgeon- her heart beat was at 220 and she was suffocating.  My knees literally began to tremble and if I had anything in my system I would have soiled my pants.  I tried to call my wife but could not talk but was able to say the name of the hospital.  The surgeon came running into the ER and in about 20 minutes they had successfully performed the tracheotomy and she was coming back to normal.  It turned out it was caused by hamafluous influenza, for which they now have a vaccine for.  That was in 1983.

For myself: My first time deer hunting in December 1973 in Hunterdon County NJ was almost my last day.  I was sitting on the side of a hill with my back against a rotting tree stump wearing hunter orange before it was law.  A buck with a spiked rack with one of them broken came down the hill and stopped right in my "alleyway" of trees so I got on one knee and shot.  As I stood up there was an 8 point buck standing right behind me.  The entire top of the hill opened up and kept shooting.  Buckshot blew away parts of the stump I was hiding behind and my backpack took a direct hit from a load of buckshot and was shredded.  It actually crossed my mind to fire back but I fired the 2 remaining shells in my shotgun in the air.  The firing stopped and a man and his son came running and were boasting about getting their 32nd deer.  Fortunately my chamber was empty and I had enough wits about me to not re-load and get into a fight.  I did curse them to hell and then asked about the deer I shot.  The son said I missed it.  Disgusted and shaking I made my way out of the forest and across the cornfield to the car.  It was 8AM and my relatives would not come out until about 4PM.  At the end of the day the man that almost shot me drove by with the 8 pointer on the roof of the station wagon and the deer that I shot (It had a broken spike rack) in the back of the wagon.

Now these idiots were not trying to intentionally kill me and I could only imagine what those of you that endured firefights in battle went through - you have my utmost respect and gratitude.  

[WUTiger]

In fall 1978, I was serving in the Operations section of a Marine Reserve infantry battalion.

Ops was planning to fly up to Fort Grayling, Michigan, to check out a National Guard camp as a possible site for our battalion's summer training.

One of the captains had a commercial pilot's license, and was flying his private plane to Michigan with the section personnel. At the last minute, the major tells me I'm staying behind to write up a report that was due.

So, the other three head for the airport on Saturday morning. I do the big report, and other paperwork. On Sunday evening they still had not returned, so the battalion commander tells me to leave the report and head home.

Then, on Monday morning, I get a phone call from the Marines telling me that all three had been killed in a plane crash  Sunday evening. Their plane had hit the top support wire of a large bridge in the fog and gone down in 80 feet of water. All three drowned.

But for fate, I could have died too. I vowed that day I would serve in the reserves as long as the Marines needed me. to honor the major and the two captains.