TheMiddleofSomewhere A grab bag of interests

Here’s a personal story with a word of warning for folks, especially young folks, in areas heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy. When I was a teenager a storm hit our town. It was a strong Nor’easter that tore apart the boardwalk and some docks along the Toms River. The debris was piled up helter skelter behind our yacht club. Nearby was a basketball hoop where I would go to practice shooting. At one point, a day or so after the storm, while I was practicing, the ball rebounded onto a pile of salvaged boardwalk planks. I jumped on the pile to retrieve the ball and when I lifted my foot a plank came with it. I had stepped on a large nail and inadvertently nailed my foot to the plank.

I extricated myself and limped the three blocks home. My mother thereupon drove me to our doctor’s office where he cleaned out the wound, dressed it, and gave me a tetanus shot. The pain of having the puncture wound cleaned was absolutely the worst I have ever endured. (This was long ago; perhaps they have better pain killers now.)

The point of telling this story is to warn everyone to stay off debris piles and/or to look carefully before they step onto the boards. Danger lurks not only in nails, but also in screws, shattered glass, splintered wood, sheet metal, etc.

This is something you might want to share with people you know in the affected areas.