[Coco] Get to know your neighbors, folks

[Jim Cox]

That story beats the time I had to self-Heimlich myself at the mall while
choking on an Orange Julius hot dog.  The lady standing next to me just gave
me a condescending look like "Why the Hell are you doing disrupting my
lunch" and walked off, but then again that's Bellevue WA. for you.

Jim Cox
http://miba51.blogspot.com/
http://geekswhocare.blogspot.com/
http://8-bit-retro-computing.blogspot.com/


On Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 10:29 PM, Roger Taylor <operator at coco3.com> wrote:


> Your fellow webmaster and CoCo friend almost bit the dust today.  Not like

> the high speed rollover I had a few years back or the time I slammed into

> the back of a highly flammable gas canister truck, but something different.

>

> A family backyard picnic today turned into chaos today.  The kids woofed

> down their hot dogs and jumped back in the pool and started feuding again as

> usual.  I finally got to sit down with a huge steak and some sliced sausage.

>

> On about my second big bite of steak I didn't chew it nearly long enough.

>  I bet you can figure the rest out.  When it got hung and wouldn't cough up,

> I decided to try to swallow it harder, then it *really* got stuck.  No air

> flow at all, guys.  I jumped up and tried to cough it out for 30 seconds

> with no luck.  A quick gulp of soda only made it worse.  My little kids

> started panicking and crying. I made it obvious I was choking.  My girl

> yelled that she didn't know what to do.  I knew I had to find another adult

> and quick.  Out of about 6 lazy and odd neighbors I chose the house where a

> (not fully citizen-status) Mexican family lives and ran up on their porch

> and yanked the door open.  The mother was sitting on the couch and I went

> through all the motions and whatnot that you'd expect a dying fella to do to

> get help.  She didn't understand.  I could barely get a gasp to say "I'm

> choking" but it didn't come out right.  She just looked at me. The kids were

> crying.  She followed me out on the porch.

>

> I was getting weak and my face probably went through 10 shades of purple

> before I grabbed the woman's arms and put them around me and showed her what

> to do.  She didn't do anything.  She didn't know what I was talking about.

>  Still, no air.  I was in trouble, but at the second, I realized I was

> *really* in trouble if she didn't understand what was going on.  Finally she

> attempted the motions but she wasn't doing it hard enough.  So I *barely*

> got enough gasp to say, Harder!, but again, it didn't come out in Spanish,

> nor nearly loud enough to be vocal.  The kids were hysterical.  I told my

> little boy it was going to be ok, which took my last bit of breath-effort

> and was almost inaudible.  Finally the lady started to improve... but it

> wasn't working! I tried with all my might to puke the damn chunk of steak up

> but it wasn't budging.  I could feel my passageway under serious pressure.

>

> Then at last, a miracle thrust to my gut from the woman resulted in....

> (giggle now, because I'm alive) a huge chunk of steak about 1 inch in

> diameter hurling through the air, across her porch... it rolled to a stop.

>  Actually, I saw it in slow motion so it took forever to come to a complete

> stop.   Slobber was all over the place and the kids were still crying, but a

> life was saved.  During her last thrusts I was also trying like hell to

> barf, so with all things combined, the obstacle was pursuaded to move.  I'm

> still in a little shock I guess.  In 41 years, nothing like that until now.

>  Get to know your neighbors, folks.  Learn some Spanish?  I refused the idea

> until now but tonight I'll *probably* Google up "I'm choking" and keep that

> on standby.

>

> Lessons learned: chew your food well, know thy neighbors, stay in shape so

> you can run fast.

>

> That is all.

>

> --

> Roger Taylor

>

> http://www.wordofthedayonline.com

>

>

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