Should've known better....OT

bill_105

Bible thumpers on snowmachines in Alaska. I've seen them on Thompson pass near Valdez. They are nuts. My God, "You gave up booze for this"?

Rocky

should have stayed at work

Went snowmobiling (snowmachining as its known here in
Alaska) this past weekend with 40 other guys out in the middle of the Alaska Mountain Range. On Saturday we were ice fishing in this remote mountain lake. The fishing was a little slow, and, well, lets face it,after the ice auger was done drilling the holes, there was no longer any fossil fuels being burned or engines involved. So, we made a slolom course with tree limbs stretching out over the lake. One guy would drive the snowmachine while pulling his teammate in a cargo sled hooked onto the back. He would slolom through the limbs about 300 yards, then at the last "gate" turn and beeline back to the finish line as fast as he could. The guy in the sled behind was lying on his back basically holding on for dear life. It was a timed event. Manly pride and bragging rights were on the line. As I was being pulled down the "homestretch" we hit a bump, my legs flew about four feet in the air, and when we came down, my left leg came down outside the sled. My left foot dug into the snow and proceeded to stay there as the rest of my body hurtled by at 65 miles an hour. Didn't know a knee could or would bend at a sideways 90 degree angle like that..that is up until then. They say I was curled in the fetal position as I went by the finish line, one arm furiously clawing at the tow rope to hold myself in the sled. Apparently it was quite the sight. Dislocated knee, torn MCL, shredded miniscus (sp?), possible other ligament damage. Had to drive out 65 miles on my snowmachine the next day over wind blown trails back to my truck, then another 180 miles back to Fairbanks. Doc says I am out about three months. But the main thing is...we won. 40 seconds flat. Beat the next team by a full second! Guys that makes me the winner ;-) Guess that's what I get for actually trying to have a life!
Warm, (vicoden induced) regards,
Rocky

Jim Bennett

Jeesh.....

Just your description makes me cringe!!! And then to have to drive yourself back in! Wow.

I have a buddy who is a commercial fisherman. He was out on a trip and lost part of his thumb in the net rigging. For the next day and a half he had to pilot the boat while they fished their way back home. Tough job!

Get healed up right. Don't push yourself.

Jim

Rocky

Fishermen are tough, hands down

have some buddies up here who fish as well...tough group of hombres. Using this time to get caught up on all my paperwork and bids. Funny, last time I was all caught up on paperwork and bids was 6 years ago when I spent 9 days in the hospital and then three more weeks at home on bed rest when I blew out three discs lifting a boiler. My own. Haven't heard the last of that one either! There MUST be a better way to get caught up on paperwork!
Rock

Mark Custis

**** hole and

warm regards.

Rocky: you help me keep a level head. In Lake Erie it takes $350,000.00 of US Coast guard to clear the guys from the flo.

I hope the nurses are good looking and you heal soon.

Mark

Mark Hunt_6

I understand


Glad you won!

Mark H

bill_105

Was there alcohol involved ?

Iron dog has very few accidents given what there doing.

John@Reliable_18

Some people are missing the point here .......................

Rocky, Won the race. Just think now everytime that leg hurts you will smile because you guys won, second place is really first loser

Rocky

No alcohol...this was my men's group from church

I don't drink, but you are right, alcohol usually is the culprit in situations like this. This time the culprit was a 46 year old me not keeping my dang-fool leg in the sled. But it really is not an age thing, because the team we were trying to beat was being driven by a 55 year old guy! He was an animal. But as John said, the important thing is, I WON...I WON....AHHHHHaHaHaHaHaHaHaaaaaaaaa!!! (wait, does that sound a little maniacal?)
Gotta go take my Vicoden now,
Rock

heatboy_25

It's a good thing.........

........you are so young and pliable. You could have been hurt ;-)

Rich Kontny_3

Rocky

As we get older we have to learn how to work smart. They tend to forget the part about playing smart. Hope your recovery goes well!

Rich

PS I am guessing that you will have more time to post on "The Wall"?

Paul Rohrs_4

4th of July Commentary

I am imagining myself standing there watching the festivities and giving the appropriate "Oooohs" and "Aaaaahs" as when fireworks are lit on the 4th of July.

Sorry for your pains Rock, but you did win and that is the elixir of life when injured in testosterone induce male competitions. Glad that you now have legitimate reasons not to lug CI boilers around.

Good on ya mate!


Paul

Edit: Your current pain level could not be worse that the pain brought on from a Oklahoma Sooner loss in Football Championship AND basketball again North Carolina. If the Vicoden isn't doing it, you might have to move on to Midol coupled with some kind of fish tranquilizer. (Good that we are friends eh?)

jackchips_2

Wow.

He's probably going to be in some type of pain for the rest of his life and worse as he get older but HE WON.

Speedy recovery but something tells me somewhere down the line you will wish that you hadn't got on the sled at all, never mind kept your leg in.

Jack

bb_11

Get well soon...

Rocky. I hope you are feeling better without the meds!

I think you may have technically lost. You did not follow the directions... "Keep you hands and feet inside the sled at all times!"

Seriously, I don't think I would have gotten in the sled, but driving would be OK.

bb

Rocky

What is this tread mark on my back?

Oh, wait, that's your boot print from kicking me when I'm down! You couldn't resist could you, Paul. Just the kind of low down sneak attack I would expect from a Husker fan. You know I'm already in pain, but to bring up two Oklahoma losses...well..that goes beyond the pale. Fear not, Oklahoma, much like my mishapen, swollen knee, will soon regain their former glory and strength, (not that my knee was really ever that glorious, but you get the point), and rise up to claim victory once again, (much like I did during the sledding competition). Yes, it may not be pretty, they may be curled in the fetal position whilst holding the championship trophy, but claim it they will. And when they do, tears of joy will flow down my face, dripping onto my new titanium knee, and I will know that all is right with the Sooner World.
Thanks for your concern,
Rocky

Paul Rohrs_4

Would you have expected any less from me?

These 2 losses will probably be the only losses for the university of Okey from Muskogee for the rest of this decade. Fear not mishapen one, for you have a friend in Nebraska.

Regards,

PR

steve_29

Rocky... congrats on winning the sled race!!!

I can't wait to hear about this summers tubing slalom race on the lake :-)

Quick tip... hang on when they hit the waves :-)

Rocky

Doc told me..

no snowmachining for a year. I said I wasn't worried about snowmachining, but the rivers here are going to be liquid again in about 8 weeks. I have a jetboat that needs to get reaquainted with our Alaskan rivers. Do what you must, Doc, but be aware I WILL be on the Yukon by June 1st! Wonder if we can make a game out of dodging trees floating down the Yukon? Most assuredly.

Rocky

Rocky

John,

I am so glad at least YOU understand! I won! ;-)
Rocky

Rocky

Bill

Thompson Pass snowmachiners would have to be nuts, bible thumpers or not! What are most of the slopes down there; 80 degree slopes? No wonder they have the Extreme skiing championships there every year. Now combine those slopes with 165 horsepower on a 350 pound sled and you have really got something! Are you from that neck of the woods?
Rock

John@Reliable_14

lol

Mark Eatherton

Titanium eh...

Congratulations on the Titanium Life TIme Achievement Award for power slalom toboganning, :-)

Take it easy there big fellow. Guess you'll have time to work on those Excel Estimation Spreadsheets now eh...

Get well soon.

ME

Rocky

Heat-Boy, funny story...

Once worked with an older guys up in Prudhoe Bay oilfields. We shared a room and one night, after a few illegal toddies, he told me about the time he came home from Prudhoe after working several straight months of 7/14's, only to find his wife, his best friend, and all his hard earned money gone. He got on the sauce and one night decided to end it all. He got his .22 pistol and put it to his head and pulled the trigger. However, right at the last minute he flinched and jerked his head.(Understandable!)So instead of the bullett ending it all, it entered his head at such a shallow angle that all it did was penetrate his scalp, not his skull. The bullet entered his scalp above his right ear, ran around the top of his head and came out above his left ear. Basically the bullet just peeled the meat, scalp and hair off his skull in about a 12" swath, from ear to ear. After the story he looked dead at me, then serious as a heart attack he said, "Rocky...don't ever shoot yourself in the head. It hurts." I promised him I wouldn't.
So Heat-Boy, "Don't ever bend your knee 90 degrees sideways. It hurts." ;-)
Rocky

bill_105

90 degrees sideways?

WOW! So you pulled a Joe Theisman. As for your co-worker, I strongly recommend a target range practice session. Anc.

S Ebels_2

...........

Dang kids anyways......:)

Here's to no long term effects and complete healing by next heating season.

Going down hills on old car hoods is about as bad as we get here in Michigan. 2 people killed here this winter doing that.

John Barba

The thrill of victory....

and the agony of....victory? And old high school coach used to talk about paying the price...perhaps this is what he meant?

Take care and let me know if there's anything I can do for you...

JMB

Rocky

LOL, I couldn't have said it better myself...

...the agony of...victory? I'm going to have to co-opt that saying and use it. Doc apt tomorrow. Will know then what the final word is. I told the doc the rivers here will be liquid in about 6 weeks and I WILL be on them in my boat. My wife thinks that since I cannot push the boat off a gravel bar, perhaps she should run an ad in the local University's student newpaper for "two hunky, swarthy shirtless types needed for "deck hands" on boat this summer to help with...well...whatever". I told her I appreciated her "concern", but that I'm fairly certain I could manage, (much to her chagrin!)
The good news is I'm getting alot of bids out and am bidding a ton of them using the new VDT pump as our boiler pump and radiant pump.
They just make too much sense to not use them. Have thought about this concept for about three years now and now the VDT fills the slot nicely. Basically a flow-meter for my system. If I know the DT, I know how many gpm I'm pushing through the system. Looking forward to getting a few of them installed. I see this as "the next big thing" in hydronics. We have tweaked our boilers, tweaked our controls and now the missing link is flow control. VDT is gonna provide that piece of the puzzle quite nicely I believe. Will let you know how they work when we get a few in.
Best,
Rock
Rock

John Barba

I would have answered the ad...

...if it was for "chunky, hairy, shirtless types..." But then again, who'd wanna see that? Take care...

JMB

Paul Rohrs_4

Internet Savvy

Look at the Knee Injury Banner Ad running on the left side of this thread.

Who knew that the internet had its own "ambulance chasers".

Hope you are healing well and getting in all the Oprah you can,

Paul

Rocky

Liberals, Liberals, Everywhere

Daytime tv is full of liberal talkshow crap. It's good to see what the "enemy" is up to. Most of us are too busy producing the income that the othe 40% of society relies on for their beer, cigarettes and food stamps to keep up with what is being said, viewed, and printed on national and local radio, tv, and newspapers. This has given me a chance to see the slop that passes for journalism or "truth" these days. I don't know if its the heavy pain meds or "The View" that is making me want to puke.
Wow...where'd that come from?
Rock