JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS BAD...

Posted by Unknown On Sunday, March 28, 2010 15 comments
Sometimes, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the challenges we face and to think that we are in such a dire situation. My better half always reminds me to be thankful in all circumstances for many others are in more challenging situations. Some survived, some did not. Here's a list of those who went through bizarre situations....As we begin a new day in our lives, let us be thankful for small blessings. Take care and may you have a blessed day.


* A fierce gust of wind blew 45-year-old Vittorio Luise's car into a river near Naples, Italy, in 1983. He managed to break a window, climb out and swim to shore -- where a tree blew over and killed him.

* Mike Stewart, 31, of Dallas was filming a movie in 1983 on the dangers of low-level bridges when the truck he was standing on passed under a low-level bridge -- killing him.

* Walter Hallas, a 26-year-old store clerk in Leeds, England, was so afraid of dentists that in 1979 he asked a fellow worker to try to cure his toothache by punching him in the jaw. The punch caused Hallas to fall down, hitting his head, and he died of a fractured skull.

* George Schwartz, owner of a factory in Providence, R.I., narrowly escaped death when a 1983 blast flattened his factory except for one wall. After treatment for minor injuries, he returned to the scene to search for files. The remaining wall then collapsed on him, killing him.

* Depressed since he could not find a job, 42-year-old Romolo Ribolla sat in his kitchen near Pisa, Italy, with a gun in his hand threatening to kill himself in 1981. His wife pleaded for him not to do it, and after about an hour he burst into tears and threw the gun to the floor. It went off and killed his wife.

* In 1983, a Mrs. Carson of Lake Kushaqua, N.Y., was laid out in her coffin, presumed dead of heart disease. As mourners watched, she suddenly sat up. Her daughter dropped dead of fright.

* A man hit by a car in New York in 1977 got up uninjured, but lay back down in front of the car when a bystander told him to pretend he was hurt so he could collect insurance money. The car rolled forward and crushed him to death.

* Surprised while burgling a house in Antwerp, Belgium, a thief fled out the back door, clambered over a nine-foot wall, dropped down and found himself in the city prison.

* In 1976 a twenty-two-year-old Irishman, Bob Finnegan, was crossing the busy Falls Road in Belfast, when he was struck by a taxi and flung over its roof. The taxi drove away and, as Finnegan lay stunned in the road, another car ran into him, rolling him into the gutter. It too drove on. As a knot of gawkers gathered to examine the magnetic Irishman, a delivery van plowed through the crowd, leaving in its wake three injured bystanders and an even more battered Bob Finnegan. When a fourth vehicle came along, the crowd wisely scattered and only one person was hit-Bob Finnegan. In the space of two minutes Finnegan suffered a fractured skull, broken pelvis, broken leg, and other assorted injuries. Hospital officials said he would recover.

* While motorcycling through the Hungarian countryside, Cristo Falatti came up to a railway line just as the crossing gates were coming down. While he sat idling, he was joined by a farmer with a goat, which the farmer tethered to the crossing gate. A few moments later a horse and cart drew up behind Falatti, followed in short order by a man in a sports car. When the train roared through the crossing, the horse startled and bit Falatti on the arm. Not a man to be trifled with, Falatti responded by punching the horse in the head. In consequence the horse's owner jumped down from his cart and began scuffling with the motorcyclist. The horse, which was not up to this sort of excitement, backed away briskly, smashing the cart into the sports- car. At this, the sports-car driver leaped out of his car and joined the fray. The farmer came forward to try to pacify the three flailing men. As he did so, the crossing gates rose and his goat was strangled. At last report, the insurance companies were still trying to sort out the claims.

* Two West German motorists had an all-too-literal head-on collision in heavy fog near the small town of Guetersloh. Each was guiding his car at a snail's pace near the center of the road. At the moment of impact their heads were both out of the windows when they smacked together. Both men were hospitalized with severe head injuries. Their cars weren't scratched.

* In a classic case of one thing leading to another, seven men aged eighteen to twenty-nine received jail sentences of three to four years in Kingston-on-Thames, England, in 1979 after a fight that started when one of the men threw a french fry at another while they stood waiting for a train.

* Hitting on the novel idea that he could end his wife's incessant nagging by giving her a good scare, Hungarian Jake Fen built an elaborate harness to make it look as if he had hanged himself. When his wife came home and saw him she fainted. Hearing a disturbance a neighbor came over and, finding what she thought were two corpses, seized the opportunity to loot the place. As she was leaving the room, her arms laden, the outraged and suspended Mr. Fen kicked her stoutly in the backside. This so surprised the lady that she dropped dead of a heart attack. Happily, Mr. Fen was acquitted of manslaughter and he and his wife were reconciled.

* An unidentified English woman, according to the London Sunday Express was climbing into the bathtub one afternoon when she remembered she had left some muffins in the oven. Naked, she dashed downstairs and was removing the muffins when she heard a noise at the door. Thinking it was the baker, and knowing he would come in and leave a loaf of bread on the kitchen table if she didn't answer his knock, the woman darted into the broom cupboard. A few moments later she heard the back door open and, to her eternal mortification, the sound of footsteps coming toward the cupboard. It was the man from the gas company, come to read the meter. "Oh," stammered the woman, "I was expecting the baker." The gas man blinked, excused himself and departed.

15 comments to JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS BAD...

  1. says:

    QQ The ultimate victory is winning over ourselves. Nothing meaningful can be achieved without struggles.

    Have a blessed Sunday

  1. says:

    Anonymous In order to save the suffering ordinary people, there is no other way than sharing the same suffering deeply with them and showing them how, as a fellow ordinary person, to overcome it.

  1. says:

    Cat-from-Sydney Aunty Paula,
    This one's so funny:
    * Two West German motorists had an all-too-literal head-on collision in heavy fog near the small town of Guetersloh. Each was guiding his car at a snail's pace near the center of the road. At the moment of impact their heads were both out of the windows when they smacked together. Both men were hospitalized with severe head injuries. Their cars weren't scratched.
    Am thinking of making a short movie based on this storyline. What do you think? purrr....meow!

  1. says:

    JournoDownUnder Dear MWS,
    I'm sensing that you're feeling down nowadays. Chin up, mate. All's not lost. There's always a silver lining beyond the grey skies.

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear QQ

    Struggles make us stronger because we can discover the strength that lies within us and draw strength from others too.

    Thanks for the inspirational reminder.

    Take care and God bless you and yours.

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 8.55am

    Indeed compassion can be greater if we empathize with those who are going through tough times.

    Thank you for this reminder.

    Take care and God bless your kind heart.

    Cheers

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Cat-in-Sydney

    Haha! You are very cheeky, young lady!

    I have seen dogs sticking their heads out of car windows and worry for them too!!! At least cats have the brains not to do that!

    Take care and let me know when you've made your movie *winks*.

    Have a lovely Sunday!

    Salam

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear JournoDownUnder

    I am feeling a bit blue because of bad news - which comes in big packages:

    * my former neighbour's dad has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of the kidneys

    * his daughter(who is younger than me) had a heart attack a few months ago and almost died

    * my girlfriend has been diagnosed with colon cancer

    * my part-time cleaner has an ovarian cyst and needs to go for a major operation and will probably lose one ovary...she is single and only 28 yrs old

    * another friend who is only 31 has been diagnosed with Polyarteritis Nodosa and is now on cancer drugs

    So my dear, more than ever, I have come to realize that life is so precious and we have so much to be thankful for.

    At the same time, I am so worried for these friends of mine...

    Thanks for the encouragement and for the sensitivity to my moods.

    God bless you!

    Beary big hugs to you

  1. says:

    Very Sad Exactly, life is so precious and we have so much to be thankful for.

    Just open our eyes, attune our ears, and we will realize that our world is overflowing with human sufferings.

    How sad!

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Very Sad

    Thank you for being sensitive to the cares of the world and the sufferings of those around us. We have to live life to the fullest and ensure we do not have regrets.

    Take care and God bless you!

    Shalom

  1. says:

    Village Boy It's believed that in order to enjoy true happiness, we should live each moment as if it were our last. Today will never return. We may speak of the past or of the future, but the only reality we have is that of this present instant.

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Village Boy

    Thank you for your words of wisdom and inspiration. Indeed, today will determine our tomorrow...yesterday is gone and it is today that matters...

    Take care and may God bless you bountifully always.

    Have a great day!

    Warmest wishes

  1. says:

    Anonymous "To pretend he was hurt so he could collect insurance money....."

    Well, this does happen even in Malaysia!

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Anon @ 4.41pm

    Indeed that is so true. That speaks volumes of the level of integrity and ethics that such characters seem to display. A very saddening situation which may make it difficult for genuine victims to apply for insurance claims.

    Thanks for that reminder.

    Take care and have a restful evening.

    Best wishes

  1. says:

    ahoo Well, there was an incident where a man survived an accident along the karak highway but falls to his death. He had apparently climbed out of his truck, lost his balance and plunged into the ravine. What an unfortunate event and this looks real bad.

    Happiness is something we need to choose in advance. It is not dependable on the situation per se as it is up to us to decide how we see that issue at hand. It is a decision we have to make each waking morning and know that every day is a gift. And as long as we have another to see the beautiful world out there, we can focus on that new day to leave our mark or print into the life of others that are around us.

    A candle loses nothing if it is used to light another one.

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