Friday, July 8

We both have dangerous jobs

Our favorite helicopter company, Ambrosini Helicopters, Inc. in Fresno is run by a man who faces danger every day. A few days ago he flew one of our guests in from Fresno, and he came back to the ranch a few days later to pick her up and take her to Mammoth, on the other side of the Sierra. For several days we had been getting afternoon thunderstorms up there, so he asked me to get ahold of the ranch and make sure she was ready by 9:00 in the morning. That way he could beat the storms. “I hate flying in hail,” he told me. I emailed the ranch and got a response: She was ready.

Contrast what he faces daily with what I face daily. Last week I slipped on some dry grass as I walked down a steep slope to the creek on the way to feed horses. I fell flat on my back. My head missed a rock by mere inches (mere centimeters). The following day a horse, anxious to get to the feed I was putting in his trough, pushed me into the steel teeth of a hay bale cart. I still have a very swollen shin. While I was stirring a pot of 220°F (105°C) apricot jam, the boiling got especially vigorous and I got splashed by hot jam. I can still find the red spot on my arm in the right lighting conditions. I am dreading the day, when opening a bill from one of our suppliers, that I get a paper cut.

4 comments:

Pat said...

Hey there little brother, be careful. Lee slipped seven months ago and he is still not back to normal.

Pat

Agneta and David said...

it really is dangerous out there. As I hike in the forest with our dog almost every day, tripping on roots, sliding in mud wondering, (like I never wondered before) is this wise? The cell phone does not work up on Svedberga Hill! Understand your predicament completely. If we don't "see" each on the blogs, please send a rescue service! A

Susan Hurley-Luke said...

Aunt Pat, I hope Uncle Lee makes a full recovery :( You all take care. No more falling, please. xx

Tom Hurley said...

Pat: The things that used to injure me as a kid almost never left even a bruise. Now all I have to do is barely touch my arms and there’s what I call a “geezer bruise,” the red patch that takes forever to go away.

Agneta: Around here I hear branches breaking off the oak trees. Once I witnessed a whole big hundred-foot pine crash to the ground. Karla saw a big oak tree fall in the corral where she was feeding horses. Forests may seem peaceful, but be on guard!

Susan: I will take your advice and stop falling. Funny, I never thought of it that way.