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I remember that cold March night. It was a night I will never forget. I was 17 years old, driving home form a party. I can still see that frail, old lady that flagged me down for help.
"A car has gone off the road, over the embankment."
I ran down the snow-covered hill, approaching the frozen pond below with great caution. A car was overturned in the ice-covered pond. Without thought, I waded up to my chest in the icy water, realizing that "time" was a critical factor. I approached the vehicle with caution, taking care to not cause it to slip deeper into the ice-cold water. I gazed in through the window and saw one passenger in the driver seat. I could not open the door, it was jammed shut! Still holding the pry bar I had taken from my van as I had made my descent down the snowy embankment to the overturned vehicle, I thrust the pry bar at the windshield with all my might. After having smashed the windshield and removing the chards of glass, I crawled into the water-filled car and pulled him to safety.
As I placed him on the solid ice, I noticed his ashen gray face, expressionless, frozen in time. His face forever etched in my memory. Checking for vital signs, I discovered that there were no signs of life. Acting instinctively, I toiled over his lifeless, cold body, and managed to save his life. The Lord must have been at my side.
After regaining consciousness in the hospital with hypothermia, a life-long message came to me. Enjoy your life to the fullest, as if there is no tomorrow. Because today is a gift...we live it only this once, a "present" to be cherished.
Unlike the man in the overturned vehicle in the pond. Do not drink and drive...stay sober and stay alive.
Joe Henn |
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