When this true story appeared in a Florida newspaper and was sent to me a few weeks ago, I filed it away and said, "This is definitely something I must share with my readers."
On his patio, a man was working on his motorcycle with the engine running. When the motorcycle slipped into gear, it dragged the man through the glass patio door and into the dining room. He lay bleeding on the floor as his wife called paramedics. They inspected him, determined he needed some treatment and transported him to the hospital for stitches. The wife then went into the dining room, pushed the motorcycle back outside and used some paper towels to blot up the gasoline that spilled onto the floor. She threw the towels into the toilet and went to the hospital to check on her husband.
His stitches done, the man was released to come home. Upon arrival home, he looked at his shattered patio door and damaged motorcycle, became despondent, went into the bathroom, sat down, and smoked a cigarette. He then threw the cigarette into the toilet where the gasoline-soaked towels were. The toilet exploded, blowing the man's trousers away and burning his backside. His wife again ran to the telephone to call for an ambulance.
The same paramedics came to the house again. As they were carrying the man on a stretcher down the stairs to the ambulance, one of them asked the wife how her husband had burned himself. She told the inquisitor, and the paramedics started laughing so hard that one of them tipped the stretcher and dumped the man out. He tumbled down the remaining stair steps and broke his arm.
I pulled the Florida man's story from my files when I thought I was going through a rather challenging time this week. Then I confirmed to myself that maybe my week hasn't been so rough after all. What about you? Sure, some of us may have had experiences this week that possibly top what the Florida man encountered, but I would dare say that most of us probably haven't surpassed him so far.
As you may sympathize or even empathize with the motorcycle victim, let me remind you of a popular song from years ago recorded by Jerry Vale. Titled "Even The Bad Times Are Good," the essence of the song is that the singer was so much in love with his sweetheart that when he was with her she turned even the bad times into good. Syrupy, huh? I'm sure it would be very difficult for the Florida man and his wife to sing that song - but, at least they can build on some mistakes and continue on - just as we all can do most of the time when we suffer from negative experiences.
Lessons from the motorcycle episode include: be extremely careful when working on an engine that's running, find a safe and secure work location, seek counsel when you feel despondent or depressed, realize that smoking can be very dangerous, and always flush.
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About our guest Blogger:
© Carl Mays, father of ClaimCare CEO Carl Mays II, is an author and speaker at over 3,500 events. Contact Carl at carlmays@carlmays.com or 865-436-7478. His motivational speaking and book information can be found on http://www.carlmays.com/. The Student Mentoring site MyMerlin.Net for students and others is based on his book and program, "A Strategy For Winning."