Very Memorable Experiences in your Life

[Sir Homey]

Junior year of high school. It was a rainy day so our gym teacher kept us inside for a rousing game of basketball. As we were wrapping things up and headed to the locker room coach came over and put his hand on my shoulder “Son, basketball is not the sport for you” and he walked away offering nothing more.
To this day whenever I miss a shot, even something minor like missing the trash can with some crumpled paper, I think of Mr Wentz.

 

[krusty]

During summer vacation between third and fourth grade I ended up wearing glasses.

One day walking up a busy street with auto traffic backed up next to the sidewalk I saw my third grade teacher waiting in her car for the light to change.

She looked over at me and said "At least those glasses make you LOOK smart".

 

[Clean Willy]

This all reminds me of one of my favorite movie scenes of all time.

Burt Lancaster as Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams talking about only getting up to bat one time in the bigs.

"You know, we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, 'Well, there'll be other days.' I didn't realize that that was the only day."

 

[Otisdog]

My girlfriend and I had driven up north from LA to camp next to and fish the East Walker river. It was a very wet spring, and the river was unfishable, so we decided to head north and take a look at the Truckee. As we rounded the first corner going into the West Walker canyon, we came across a tour bus with the front end siting on the raised bank and the rear of the bus bobbing up and down in the raging river.
" Geez, I wonder how long that has been here" I said out loud. No sooner had I said that, I saw the people scattered on the bank, and then saw a body float out of a window and down the river. 4 harleys pulled, took some pictures, and rode away. I then realized that we were the first people to stop at the accident site.
I pulled the winch cable out of the FJ60 and tied off the front of the bus, hoping that would keep the bus from floating away, and took off for the bus. The bus had rolled, smashing the roof down and bulging the sides of the bus out, which threw people between the side of the bus and the seats, who were then trapped there when the bus rolled again.
I got into the bus, and it was ugly...that back of the bus had about 3 feet of water in it, people were still being washed out. I put some fallen roof panels across the outside of the windows to reduce the amount of water flowing through. A forest service lady popped in to help, then a couple of other men. Then a Highway patrolman and an ambulance driver, who proceeded tp argue "whose wreck it was" which caused me to scream at both of them .
We'd load injured people on a helicopter, just to have it come back, unload the dead, and take more to the Reno hospital. Triage wasn't a thing at the time. I popped out of the bus cause I needed out of the freezing water for a spell to see 8 or 10 marines from the Mountain Warfare Training Center S&R team standing on the bluff looking at the wreck, which caused me to go off on the OIC.
Eventually there were enough emergency response folks actually doing their job to where I felt I could leave. Told a marine to tie the bus off to their deuce and a half so I could leave. 23 or 24 people died. Back In Bridgeport, I stopped in at Ken's Sporting Goods, and told Rick, the owner, what had transpired upriver. He gave me a case of Heineken and a bottle of tequila to take back to camp.
It was then I realized how fragile life was...how one must live ones' life like it could be their last day on earth, how one must let their loved ones know what they mean to them. This tragic day has shaped my life ever since then.

 

[Jim F.]

Thanks for taking action.

 

[SurfnFish]

My girlfriend and I had driven up north from LA to camp next to and fish the East Walker river. It was a very wet spring, and the river was unfishable, so we decided to head north and take a look at the Truckee. As we rounded the first corner going into the West Walker canyon, we came across a tour bus with the front end siting on the raised bank and the rear of the bus bobbing up and down in the raging river.
" Geez, I wonder how long that has been here" I said out loud. No sooner had I said that, I saw the people scattered on the bank, and then saw a body float out of a window and down the river. 4 harleys pulled, took some pictures, and rode away. I then realized that we were the first people to stop at the accident site.
I pulled the winch cable out of the FJ60 and tied off the front of the bus, hoping that would keep the bus from floating away, and took off for the bus. The bus had rolled, smashing the roof down and bulging the sides of the bus out, which threw people between the side of the bus and the seats, who were then trapped there when the bus rolled again.
I got into the bus, and it was ugly...that back of the bus had about 3 feet of water in it, people were still being washed out. I put some fallen roof panels across the outside of the windows to reduce the amount of water flowing through. A forest service lady popped in to help, then a couple of other men. Then a Highway patrolman and an ambulance driver, who proceeded tp argue "whose wreck it was" which caused me to scream at both of them .
We'd load injured people on a helicopter, just to have it come back, unload the dead, and take more to the Reno hospital. Triage wasn't a thing at the time. I popped out of the bus cause I needed out of the freezing water for a spell to see 8 or 10 marines from the Mountain Warfare Training Center S&R team standing on the bluff looking at the wreck, which caused me to go off on the OIC.
Eventually there were enough emergency response folks actually doing their job to where I felt I could leave. Told a marine to tie the bus off to their deuce and a half so I could leave. 23 or 24 people died. Back In Bridgeport, I stopped in at Ken's Sporting Goods, and told Rick, the owner, what had transpired upriver. He gave me a case of Heineken and a bottle of tequila to take back to camp.
It was then I realized how fragile life was...how one must live ones' life like it could be their last day on earth, how one must let their loved ones know what they mean to them. This tragic day has shaped my life ever since then.

utter respect for your courage to jump in and do the right thing.

 

[krusty]

During summer vacation between third and fourth grade I ended up wearing glasses.

One day walking up a busy street with auto traffic backed up next to the sidewalk I saw my third grade teacher waiting in her car for the light to change.

She looked over at me and said "At least those glasses make you LOOK smart".

Perhaps wearing glasses provided the entire basis for my considerable academic and professional success....

Fake it until you make it.

 

[Wadin' Boot]

Perhaps wearing glasses provided the entire basis for my considerable academic and professional success....

Krusty, leaving all your academic and professional success aside, the glasses might have also ruined your chances of becoming a successful International Male model.




and @Otisdog - wow, kudos for you for showing up and helping out. It's disheartening to read that narrative, it sounds like a lot of people stood around (or left) and the fact you didn't, and thought on your feet to help in multiple ways, is really impressive. Now I am curious, what did you end up doing for a career?

 

[509]

Otisdog.....what year was the incident??

 

[wanderingrichard]

Another: my first month at the lazy B as a buyer on a defense program.

I got a purchase request for a blender. It was legit because the engineers used it to destroy classified microfiche.

Then got a request for 500 bike spokes. Legit because the local natives on the island would steal the bikes to get the spokes to tie down thatch on their homes. The program manager held a special meeting with the local natives and gave them the spokes. No more stolen bikes.

Then a request for a case of red wine and white wine from Ste. Michelle. Legit because it was for the launch party and not with government money. I had to go and pick it and hand carry through Receiving. Wonders why...

What an introduction to the defense business.

Damn, I was on the wrong side of the business with the wrong employers. "Land Systems" type guys are notoriously stingy

 

[goinoregon]

During summer vacation between third and fourth grade I ended up wearing glasses.

One day walking up a busy street with auto traffic backed up next to the sidewalk I saw my third grade teacher waiting in her car for the light to change.

She looked over at me and said "At least those glasses make you LOOK smart".

ouch.

 

[goinoregon]

First year in the army, 1973, as draft wound down, ended up in northern italy. signed up for a matterhorn climb, two 2nd lieutenants organized the deal. we had about 6-8 on the team. made it up to a refugio at about 11.5k ft. a few of the guys were showing symptoms of altitude sickness, weather started turning in the morning as we go up, and most everyone in the refugio had left, and i assume went for the summit. luckily our leadership.... decided it was best to start down.... and thank goodness, as we hit the one shute that neede repelling some of our not very well skilled crew slowed things down. one guy almost fell on me as i was on a shelf helping the belayers get down... made it through. didnt climb any more euro mtns, but enjoyed the experience.

 

[charles sullivan]

That Thompson fish.

 

[skyriver]

I'll go with 2 positives that shaped my recreational life. And the cool thing is both memories have pics and both are in the same driveway, only about 5 feet from each other.

The first one is the best toy present I've ever had. Not sure any future toy, whether a present or a purchase will come close. My parents bought me a brand new 1974 Honda MR50 Elsinore dirt bike for my 6th birthday. I had been riding 2 wheels since I was 2 or 3 so they figured I could handle it. It was a 3-speed 2-stroke that was patterned after the iconic CR125 and CR250 Honda race bikes of the early 70s. Here I am the first time sitting on it. You can see I was pretty damn happy.


I was so happy, but I needed a little encouragement the first time out, which was about 5 minutes after this pic. Haha! We took it out in the pasture that had a hill. I would coast down the hill and then my dad pushed me back up. After the 2nd coast he's like "Ok, you have to ride it up this hill or I'm taking it back to the dealer." Yes kids, that was called encouragement in the 70s. I killed it a few times starting out, but after about 4 good starts I was off to the races. I rode the crap outta that thing all through grade school. I was tall so by 3rd grade it was pretty much like a pit bike for me. Just hammered it and it kept going. I moved to my dad's XR250 in 6th grade. I think he sold the MR50 my freshman year of college. Man, we should've kept that thing. Honda only made them in 74 and 75 and they are now big-time collectibles.

2nd one is my first steelhead. Also my first steelhead on the fly. In fact, I've only caught steelhead on the fly. I've never caught one on gear even though I pitched spoons every now and then in my youth.
This one was on the Washougal river in July. I was a freshman in high school so I wasn't legal to drive yet. I rode my girlfriend's 10-speed from my grandparent's dairy (Chick's Dairy) up on the Sunnyside slope down to and up the river. I was fishing a #4 Fool's Gold (Mike Kennedy), that I tied, on a 7 or 8wt S-glass rod with a foam grip that I had bought at Larry's Sports Center in Oregon City for $40. The reel was a big Shakespeare with a white plastic handle. The line was a SA Wet Belly Hi-D 20' extra fast sinking tip. Leader was probably a home-made tapered to 8# Max, the brown stuff.

I was wet wading in my Levi 501s just below the "Norway" bridge (NE Vernon Rd) during mid-day. There's a decent pocket before the tail-out and I found a 6# native buck that was willing. Talk about pumped up!! It was 1983 so still legal to keep wild fish. It was my first steelhead and I was 15 and it was 1983. I kept it. If I had to guess, with all I know now, I would say the fish was probably a "springer" and had entered the river in March or April. He was dark, but fat and healthy. I don't believe it was a late spawner kelt. There's no way it would be in as good of shape as this one was. The Washougal does have decent food supply, but not that good.
I then carried the fish in one hand and the rod in the other and pedaled my ass down river and then all the way up the hill...6 miles.
The steelhead stoke definitely helped! This pic is literally 5' away from the first one.


Can you say Hick? Haha! I got that Goldendale track sweatshirt nice and slimy.

Now I want to rip the brand new Kawasaki KX327 to a steelhead run!

 

[Draketake]

@Otisdog

Thank you for being a good person.

Bob

 

[Otisdog]

Otisdog.....what year was the incident??

May 30, 1986. I think it was memorial day weekend. In googling for the date (I have the original LA Times article somewhere) I see that there was actually 21 fatalities. The bus company (starlite) is still in business, and I occasionally see one of their buses on the road, which brings back the memories.
All of the passengers were old folks from a Santa Monica retirement home. There was one lady who was trapped between the seat and the bus side, but she was towards the middle of the bus, so the water wasn't as much an issue as it was to those behind her. (We had to unbolt the under water bolts to remove the seats to get the people out). I kept returning to help her and she urged me to help the other people first. When I finally decided that I had enough, and left the bus, I went looking for her to check on her. I found her under a sheet.

 

[Otisdog]

- wow, kudos for you for showing up and helping out. It's disheartening to read that narrative, it sounds like a lot of people stood around (or left) and the fact you didn't, and thought on your feet to help in multiple ways, is really impressive. Now I am curious, what did you end up doing for a career?

Framer, Framing contractor, then I built movie sets for 34 years.

 

[Bugmeister]

12 years old, freezing with no wetsuit at Kelly's Cove San Francisco beach, stood up on an old beater of a surfboard and got my first ride...hooked for life

Waking up in the hut my first morning in G-Land, Java, after 40 hours of travelling that included a long boat ride across the Java Strait in the dark, to see absolutely perfect waves spinning from the outside point all the way through the inside, grabbing my surfboard and sprinting for the water. Three weeks of epic surf.

Meeting the highly attractive and hella sweet blonde at the nursing station I ended up marrying

During the birth of my son by C section I was scrubbed and in the OR (being a former OR tech and a hipster delivery doc got me in), amazing rush watching him emerge from the incision, giving full voice as he met the world.

1977, had just started running gray whale watching trips out of Pillar Point Harbor, had on board 30 or so members of the Jacques Cousteau Society courtesy of a trip I put together with the SF Aquarium, trying to drum up business.
After a lot of trail and error I had established a method of getting up close and personal with gray whales, so we were dead in the water with a calf rubbing against the boat while mom kept an eye on us, when several hundred yards away an enormous shape emerged from the water heading skyward like a slow motion missile launch, reached it's apex and then fell to it's side in an enormous splash. Decades in those waters and it would be the only sighting of a Blue Whale emerging like that I would ever see. To say folks on board went apeshit would be an understatement.
Word got out and the following weekend one of the passengers was a journalist/photographer from the SF Chronicle who turned the trip into a Sunday article. Shortly after our whaling watching tours were fully booked every weekend.

And so many more...the special moments we live create the sum of our journey here.

View attachment 185709

Your G-Land call out is spot on. I haven’t been back since the mid 90s; on my first trip I was with some buddies after dark and we heard what the locals claimed was a tiger making some crazy noise out in the jungle adjacent to camp.
One of my favorite waves! I’m unsure whether I will ever get back to Indo but if I do it’s a consideration. Wonder if I will recognize it. My bet is the camp and the crowd levels are much different these days….

 

[SurfnFish]

Your G-Land call out is spot on. I haven’t been back since the mid 90s; on my first trip I was with some buddies after dark and we heard what the locals claimed was a tiger making some crazy noise out in the jungle adjacent to camp.
One of my favorite waves! I’m unsure whether I will ever get back to Indo but if I do it’s a consideration. Wonder if I will recognize it. My bet is the camp and the crowd levels are much different these days….

We got lucky with the crowds that trip, just a handful with pretty much constant swell up to DOH. Timing could not have been more perfect, when our departure boat arrived wading ashore was a crew of pro chargers from HI.
Son was there in 2006...no more having to take a small boat across the channel in the night, can drive right in, three camps, never less than 40 surfers in the lineup.

 

[509]

May 30, 1986. I think it was memorial day weekend. In googling for the date (I have the original LA Times article somewhere) I see that there was actually 21 fatalities. The bus company (starlite) is still in business, and I occasionally see one of their buses on the road, which brings back the memories.
All of the passengers were old folks from a Santa Monica retirement home. There was one lady who was trapped between the seat and the bus side, but she was towards the middle of the bus, so the water wasn't as much an issue as it was to those behind her. (We had to unbolt the under water bolts to remove the seats to get the people out). I kept returning to help her and she urged me to help the other people first. When I finally decided that I had enough, and left the bus, I went looking for her to check on her. I found her under a sheet.

I started working on a Incident Management Team in 1986.

As other local, state, and Federal agencies were trained in ICS response to emergencies got a lot more professional. It was interesting watching agencies that were a pain in the butt to work with, become good partners as they got the training.

That Highway Patrolman needed to assume Incident Commander role, and manage the incident. Not his fault in 1986, but that would not have happened today where he ended up in an argument with the ambulance driver.

Your story about the lady is heart breaking.