Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[Bryan]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

I found a mortally injured swift on the pavement. I think it looked me in the eye. I'm not good with suffering creatures.

Fortunately it had died by the time I got it home so I didn't need a brick. Best thing to do seemed to be to take it down the end of the garden in the hope that the foxes will make a meal of it.

 

Reminds me of a few gruesome incidents. One I once inadvertently speared a toad that was living in our compost heap while forking it over. Removing the impaled creature not pleasant. Then, once when out cycling in a remote area in Germany we came across a deer that had been hit by a vehicle and was lying at the roadside, not dead but unable to move.  I had no means of helping it or swiftly despatching it, we just had to leave it there.  I once came across a rat that had clearly eaten poison, but was still alive. I managed to cut off its head with  a single blow using a garden spade. Then there was the tearful episode when we had to have our old pet dog put down.

 

When my time comes I would hope that there might be a friendly doctor around with a double helping of morphine. that's the way my grandfather departed.  Euthanasia, bring it on !

[Michael Ventura]

2 hours ago, Bryan said:

Good to hear that your electricity is restored, does your insurance not cover freezer content, or is it not worth claiming ?

 

Not worth claiming, I am pretty sure my deductible is $250 before I can claim.

[Michael Ventura]

2 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Oh, good! Maybe your frozen food will be okay. If one doesn’t open the refrigerator, usually it can be saved if only a day without power. I did see that the storm killed a motorist when a tree fell on his car, was it in Maine? Somewhere east.

I’m so glad you came through okay.

My son once had to turn back during a hailstorm, while trying to get to his terrified teen daughter. The tornado sirens were wailing. The streets were full of hail so deep he had no traction. His car was dented, though. Mother Nature can really drop the hammer, sometimes.

 

It was 48 hours altogether. One motorist was killed here and many more sent to the hospital with serious injuries.  An apartment building, very close to my home, had a large tree take off a corner of the building and someone's bedroom.  I saw it on the news (on my phone) and did not realized just how close it was to me until I drove past it yesterday!  I thought, "Oh my gosh, that's the building I saw on my phone!".   I still do not have internet or TV service back....but I'll take the electricity any day, over TV/internet!  Using my phone as a "Hot Spot" to get internet.

[sb photos]

2 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

Reminds me of a few gruesome incidents. One I once inadvertently speared a toad that was living in our compost heap while forking it over. Removing the impaled creature not pleasant. Then, once when out cycling in a remote area in Germany we came across a deer that had been hit by a vehicle and was lying at the roadside, not dead but unable to move.  I had no means of helping it or swiftly despatching it, we just had to leave it there.  I once came across a rat that had clearly eaten poison, but was still alive. I managed to cut off its head with  a single blow using a garden spade. Then there was the tearful episode when we had to have our old pet dog put down.

 When my time comes I would hope that there might be a friendly doctor around with a double helping of morphine. that's the way my grandfather departed.  Euthanasia, bring it on !

 

Your mention of impaling a toad reminded me of an incident when I was approaching three. We had just moved into a new house, the as yet unfenced rear gardens had recently been ploughed and top soil deposited. My father was starting to organise the garden. A mole surfaced close to him and he despatched it with a garden fork. One of the fork prongs impaled his foot. Years later I had a go at him for that. It would have been easy catching it in a bucket and releasing it well into the fields at the bottom of our garden. 

 

[gvallee]

35 minutes ago, sb photos said:

 

Your mention of impaling a toad reminded me of an incident when I was approaching three. We had just moved into a new house, the as yet unfenced rear gardens had recently been ploughed and top soil deposited. My father was starting to organise the garden. A mole surfaced close to him and he despatched it with a garden fork. One of the fork prongs impaled his foot. Years later I had a go at him for that. It would have been easy catching it in a bucket and releasing it well into the fields at the bottom of our garden. 

 

 

Hubby was traumatised as a young kid when his mum killed a mole with a pitchfork. He told me the story several times. 

[gvallee]

8 hours ago, Bryan said:

 

Reminds me of a few gruesome incidents. One I once inadvertently speared a toad that was living in our compost heap while forking it over. Removing the impaled creature not pleasant. Then, once when out cycling in a remote area in Germany we came across a deer that had been hit by a vehicle and was lying at the roadside, not dead but unable to move.  I had no means of helping it or swiftly despatching it, we just had to leave it there.  I once came across a rat that had clearly eaten poison, but was still alive. I managed to cut off its head with  a single blow using a garden spade. Then there was the tearful episode when we had to have our old pet dog put down.

 

When my time comes I would hope that there might be a friendly doctor around with a double helping of morphine. that's the way my grandfather departed.  Euthanasia, bring it on !

 

When we were house sitting a tropical house, they had an infinity pool with a gutter running alongside it. Cane toads loved to come and mate in the gutter. We were told to spear them. We couldn't do it. In the end, their spawn clogged the pool and it stopped filtering. We had to call the pool man.

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by gvallee

[Betty LaRue]

The most horrible thing that ever happened to me. I was 18 & my baby girl was 8 mo old. Hubs was in the Air Force & we were stationed in the California Mohave desert. Somebody had talked hubs into taking a German Shepherd pup, about 3 months old. We weren’t allowed to have pets in the house, so the pup had to follow the shade available around the house exterior during the hot desert day. There were no trees. I’m an animal-lover, and at that time, specially a dog-lover.

My baby slept longer than the time she should have for her afternoon nap, so I checked on her & felt her forehead. She was burning up with fever, 104 degrees, (40C) the first time she’d ever gotten sick. Young children can do that…feel perfectly normal one minute & burn up the next.

In a panic, I grabbed her up, put her in the car to take her to the base doctors. I started the car, rolled forward, felt a bump & heard a yelp. I got out to look & found I had run over the pup’s head. It had taken the shade under the car, but the last thing on my mind was the dog. I won’t describe what I saw, but it was the stuff of nightmares & haunts me still.

Hysterical, I ran to a friend’s next door rental unit, & she drove us to the base to get my baby’s ear infection treated & her husband took care of the pup. This same friend’s baby girl had gone into seizures with a 103 fever a month earlier, so I thought my baby was gravely ill & expected her to seize any moment.

That was the first of many 104 fevers my children had later on, & I became so adept at diagnosing that the pediatrician always asked for my diagnosis before looking at my sick child. Most of the time it was either an ear infection, a bronchial infection/asthma, or a strep infection, & I always knew which it was.
I never forgot the first one, though.

[Michael Ventura]

Yikes, this thread is getting tough to read...starting to wish my power was out again  😲.   Kidding but need to be sure to be finished with breakfast before reading the "Post a bad thing" thread.

[Betty LaRue]

31 minutes ago, Michael Ventura said:

Yikes, this thread is getting tough to read...starting to wish my power was out again  😲.   Kidding but need to be sure to be finished with breakfast before reading the "Post a bad thing" thread.

😁 I get ya

[gvallee]

On 31/07/2023 at 14:09, gvallee said:

We are housesitting again in a gorgeous huge bush plot in the hot North. The house is elevated on stilts for coolness with a large open timber deck, a spa in the garden and a hammock under palmtrees. It's a bit worrying actually as there are a couple of coconuts dangling just above. So far so good, what's bad you ask?

 

 

Incredibly, this has just happened this morning as I was walking past. A cockatoo was busy piercing a hole in one of the coconuts which caused it to drop slap bang on the hammock! I am beginning to believe I have psychic powers.

[Betty LaRue]

11 hours ago, gvallee said:

 

Incredibly, this has just happened this morning as I was walking past. A cockatoo was busy piercing a hole in one of the coconuts which caused it to drop slap bang on the hammock! I am beginning to believe I have psychic powers.

Funny! The hammock needs a net above it!

[Michael Ventura]

23 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

Yikes, this thread is getting tough to read...starting to wish my power was out again  😲.   Kidding but need to be sure to be finished with breakfast before reading the "Post a bad thing" thread.

 

So my daughter's car is in the repair shop and I had to take to work last night and pick her up this morning.  Lately she's been working in the Emergency Room and last night was action packed.  In the 20 min drive home, she had to tell me all the details of what she dealt with and I just don't have the stomach for it....plus it was so depressing.  I have no idea where she got the fortitude to do this job but super happy for her that she found something that she loves to do and it pays well too!

[NYCat]

She's a hero.

 

Paulette

[gvallee]

7 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

So my daughter's car is in the repair shop and I had to take to work last night and pick her up this morning.  Lately she's been working in the Emergency Room and last night was action packed.  In the 20 min drive home, she had to tell me all the details of what she dealt with and I just don't have the stomach for it....plus it was so depressing.  I have no idea where she got the fortitude to do this job but super happy for her that she found something that she loves to do and it pays well too!

 

Not many people could do it. She's an angel. 

[Betty LaRue]

8 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

So my daughter's car is in the repair shop and I had to take to work last night and pick her up this morning.  Lately she's been working in the Emergency Room and last night was action packed.  In the 20 min drive home, she had to tell me all the details of what she dealt with and I just don't have the stomach for it....plus it was so depressing.  I have no idea where she got the fortitude to do this job but super happy for her that she found something that she loves to do and it pays well too!

Tell her to call me. I love medical talk. 
I have a nephew who any time someone goes into detail about procedures, surgeries or accidents, he leaves the room. I don’t fault anyone for feeling like that.

I cut the top of my index finger badly while slicing ham off the bone once. My husband heard me gasp & ran into the kitchen. He saw me bleeding (a lot) and thrust my hand under running water at the sink. When he got a look at the cut, he asked me if I’d be ok, he’d be right back. I said sure. Time passed, & when he didn’t return, I managed to get to the paper towels and wrap my hand. I went looking for him. He was laid out on the sofa with one arm flung over his forehead, eyes shut & white as a ghost.

I let him be & tended to dressing a wound that needed stitches that I never got.

I never sliced ham with a dull butcher knife again.

 

[Michael Ventura]

 

2 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Tell her to call me. I love medical talk. 
I have a nephew who any time someone goes into detail about procedures, surgeries or accidents, he leaves the room. I don’t fault anyone for feeling like that.

I cut the top of my index finger badly while slicing ham off the bone once. My husband heard me gasp & ran into the kitchen. He saw me bleeding (a lot) and thrust my hand under running water at the sink. When he got a look at the cut, he asked me if I’d be ok, he’d be right back. I said sure. Time passed, & when he didn’t return, I managed to get to the paper towels and wrap my hand. I went looking for him. He was laid out on the sofa with one arm flung over his forehead, eyes shut & white as a ghost.

I let him be & tended to dressing a wound that needed stitches that I never got.

I never sliced ham with a dull butcher knife again.

 

 

Overall, I am pretty good with blood and all but my daughter can get very graphic.  Was just watching our local NBC news and they were talking  about the accident that my daughter had to deal with when 9 patients were brought to the ER.  A drunk man was driving the wrong way on Washington Capital Beltway.  He slammed into two cars, one carrying a family of five, who were on road trip from Pennsylvania heading to North Carolina.  I won't go into details but the mom of that family passed away in the ER and others in the family were very badly injured.  All the while, the drunk driver tried to flee the accident but was caught.  That was just one of the many events last night, including a man brought in by police who was very high on something and out of control, he needed to be sedated....he kept asking my daughter if she had any "crack"!  No idea how she goes to sleep when she comes home.

[Cecile Marion]

I’m certainly grateful for good medical people like your daughter. We’d be totally lost without them!

[Betty LaRue]

5 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

 

Overall, I am pretty good with blood and all but my daughter can get very graphic.  Was just watching our local NBC news and they were talking  about the accident that my daughter had to deal with when 9 patients were brought to the ER.  A drunk man was driving the wrong way on Washington Capital Beltway.  He slammed into two cars, one carrying a family of five, who were on road trip from Pennsylvania heading to North Carolina.  I won't go into details but the mom of that family passed away in the ER and others in the family were very badly injured.  All the while, the drunk driver tried to flee the accident but was caught.  That was just one of the many events last night, including a man brought in by police who was very high on something and out of control, he needed to be sedated....he kept asking my daughter if she had any "crack"!  No idea how she goes to sleep when she comes home.

Just like the television series ER! When George Clooney was on it, it was my favorite show. Little by little, the best of the cast left, & I eventually did, too.

[Bryan]

On 02/08/2023 at 14:00, Michael Ventura said:

 

So my daughter's car is in the repair shop and I had to take to work last night and pick her up this morning.  Lately she's been working in the Emergency Room and last night was action packed.  In the 20 min drive home, she had to tell me all the details of what she dealt with and I just don't have the stomach for it....plus it was so depressing.  I have no idea where she got the fortitude to do this job but super happy for her that she found something that she loves to do and it pays well too!

Our younger son's fiancée is a doctor and she likes watching TV programmes relating to medicine and, in particular, operating rooms.  My son, like me, can't stand the sight of blood, so very much not to his taste.  We are fortunate that there are people, like these aforementioned women, who can and do cope ! 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Bryan

[Bryan]

Now this is a very bad thing, I've just read that my favourite store, Wilko, is in trouble and in danger of closure.

 

Most shops have zero appeal for me, the grocery stores do a good job, but are boring, while I never willingly enter a fashion store, but Wilko I love.

 

For non UK residents let me say that Wilko is similar to what Woolworths used to be at its best, you can buy a length of wire, a small packet of screws, miscellaneous electrical items, paint, power tools, garden tools, compost and seeds. They also sell dull stuff, such as soap etc, but you can avoid all that. Our local Wilko is within easy cycling distance, I have walked it, and there is an excellent bus service, so no need to use the car. My kind of shop, but, sadly, not what the majority of the population wants these days.

 

I hope that they weather the storm, but the signs are not good. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Bryan

[Mr Standfast]

On 04/08/2023 at 06:21, Bryan said:

Now this is a very bad thing, I've just read that my favourite store, Wilko, is in trouble and in danger of closure.

 

Most shops have zero appeal for me, the grocery stores do a good job, but are boring, while I never willingly enter a fashion store, but Wilko I love.

 

For non UK residents let me say that Wilko is similar to what Woolworths used to be at its best, you can buy a length of wire, a small packet of screws, miscellaneous electrical items, paint, power tools, garden tools, compost and seeds. They also sell dull stuff, such as soap etc, but you can avoid all that. Our local Wilko is within easy cycling distance, I have walked it, and there is an excellent bus service, so no need to use the car. My kind of shop, but, sadly, not what the majority of the population wants these days.

 

I hope that they weather the storm, but the signs are not good. 

 

 

They used to sell screws and nails by weight... sigh!!

[Allan Bell]

6 hours ago, Mr Standfast said:

 

 

They used to sell screws and nails by weight... sigh!!

 

And broken biscuits.  If they did not have any they would drop a tin on the floor and empty the bits into a bag and say there you are.

 

Allan

 

[Bryan]

One of the things that makes Wilko special is that their shops are generally based within town centres, which makes getting to them easy for people without cars. Their competitors inhabit those soulless out of town shopping centres that are now preferred by most people, while mail order has perhaps proved the death knell for this chain of stores.

 

Where, I ask, will I be able to buy next year's reasonably priced supply of seed potatoes and onion sets? 

[Betty LaRue]

On 04/08/2023 at 00:21, Bryan said:

Now this is a very bad thing, I've just read that my favourite store, Wilko, is in trouble and in danger of closure.

 

Most shops have zero appeal for me, the grocery stores do a good job, but are boring, while I never willingly enter a fashion store, but Wilko I love.

 

For non UK residents let me say that Wilko is similar to what Woolworths used to be at its best, you can buy a length of wire, a small packet of screws, miscellaneous electrical items, paint, power tools, garden tools, compost and seeds. They also sell dull stuff, such as soap etc, but you can avoid all that. Our local Wilko is within easy cycling distance, I have walked it, and there is an excellent bus service, so no need to use the car. My kind of shop, but, sadly, not what the majority of the population wants these days.

 

I hope that they weather the storm, but the signs are not good. 

Sorry to hear that. Here in the US, Walmart began the death knell for a lot of shops. Then the big box stores piled on and the huge stores like Lowe’s & Home Depot began driving appliance stores, hardware stores, paint shops & small nurseries out of business. Amazon is killing just about everything.

I have to admit that in my older years, Amazon has been a life-saver for me, especially for months after my back surgery. I suppose younger people who work but have time constraints find Amazon handy also.

I guess it’s the way of the world now, & before long we old-timers who remember how it used to be will be gone.

Growing up in a small town, my Main Street consisted of small shops. During a few weeks leading up to Christmas, each shop put one item that didn’t fit with the purpose of the shop, some as small as a thimble, into their window display. The public could get a paper form listing all participating businesses with a line beside each shop that one could pencil in the item that didn’t fit.  For instance, a window filled with hardware items might have a spool of ribbon barely showing an edge under a paintbrush. It was hard enough that usually there would be a few shops that one couldn’t find the item, or didn’t recognize it as a non-fit.

It was great fun. Those who managed to get them all won a nice prize. I remember standing at the windows in freezing cold, nose running, feet stomping, trying to figure them out. Meanwhile, Christmas music played over a loudspeaker, & the light poles were heavy with decorations.
Virtually none of those stores have survived. That’s where the saying “you never can go home again” comes from. Because the home you grew up in is no longer what you remember it being.

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Betty LaRue

[Bryan]

14 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Sorry to hear that. Here in the US, Walmart began the death knell for a lot of shops. Then the big box stores piled on and the huge stores like Lowe’s & Home Depot began driving appliance stores, hardware stores, paint shops & small nurseries out of business. Amazon is killing just about everything.

I have to admit that in my older years, Amazon has been a life-saver for me, especially for months after my back surgery. I suppose younger people who work but have time constraints find Amazon handy also.

 

I can see the advantages of mail order shopping, our kids use it, but I try to avoid it.

 

I guess that there is a possible environmental benefit in having a van deliver parcels across a region rather than have individuals drive to out of town shopping centres, but, while there are exceptions, the reputation of white van man is not undeserved.  I look forward to the day when technology is able to automatically impose urban speed limits on all vehicles.