I read the thread about the X-Files accident that rilchiam had posted. She said that her hubby probably wouldn’t have been hurt even if he was still working on X-Files.
Got me thinking.
I was in the AF for 3 yrs. My first TDY was to Las Vegas. I know, it sucks. 
Well, when I landed there, I called back to my shop to find out that the Khobar Towers had been bombed. We lost 12 Airmen that day. I didn’t know any of them personally, but I had seen some of them around the wing in passing.
When I got back to Florida, I checked my original orders from Tech School. Just as I had suspected, they were for the 58th FS (Fighter Squadron), which was the squadron that went. I had been transferred to the 33MS (Maintainence Sq.) in a deal where the 58th would get a higher ranking person later.
If I hadn’t been swapped, I would have gone over there, because it was about the time that I would have finished all my training and be ‘flight ready.’ Not to say I would have died or gotten injured while I was there, but just that something happened that made it a non-reality for me.
Anyone else have some near misses? Even the less serious, because seriousness drags me down at times.
I lived in a house with 2 girls (not NEARLY as cool as you might think, just house-mates) and since it was a large house we were having another guy move in as well to really bring down the rent and bills. At the time I worked a 3-day work week at night. Anyway, they asked me to get keys made for the new guy since I had the day free. I came home and instead of going to sleep (normal day) and then going to the mall to do this, I decided to go right away. Changed went to the mall, came back to see someone trying to break into the garage of the house. I freak out, slide the car sideways into the driveway to get the guy. He runs around back and as I get out of my car the wind changes and I see smoke coming from behind the house. Freaking out I run to the front door, unlock it and can’t open it. I know NOW that was lucky for me since the heat swelled the door and adding air to the fire would have been bad. The entire back of the house was engulfed in flames. The fire dept said that either the cable-box or the TV overheated and started the curtains/carpet on fire. I would have been asleep (and I sleep DEEP) and doubt I would have lived. The guy that was trying to break in was trying to see if anyone was in fact inside to help.
CandyMan
A couple of years ago (april '96), I went down to Tasmania for one of my cousins 21st birthday. My uncle convinced my mother to let me have a few days off school to spend time with that part of the family. After I arrived, my uncle suggested that the day after the party we all go out for a picnic at nearby Port Arthur. I said it sounded good. Well, anyway at this party I was introduced to Alcohol (I was 15 at the time), had a bit too much and woke up the next morning with the hangover from hell, and my uncle said that we’ll leave the picnic for the next day (as my other cousins were likewise affected). That seemed like a good idea. Especially as that afternoon when an otherwise lovely young man went psycho with a semi-automatic weapon killing 36 people at, you guessed it, Port Arthur. See kids, Hangovers can be good for you…
There’s a cute young lady sitting right across the aisle from me; does that count as a near miss?