These two incidences in tandem tell this story about two miracles and one unlikely hero. My brother-in-law, Larry, was working on an oil derrick when he lost his footing and plunged about fifty-two feet to the ground! He was “lucky” to have only a broken foot after the fall, though his whole body was wracked with pain for a few weeks. There was a ditch running to the derrick that was filled with deep oily mud and this is where he was fortunate enough to land or I doubt he would be with us today! Always witty, he had this to say when I asked him if he was screaming during his long fall to the ground. He said, “Well, some people, when they fall from such heights are fliers (he illustrated with flapping arms) and some are screamers, but I was a flying screamer!” He was still in a full leg cast when he became our family hero.
It was just a week before Christmas and the day was bitterly cold that day in December when my two brothers-in-law, Larry and Richard, and their wives went to First Old River so Richard, an avid fisherman, could test a motor he had put on his boat. He was in the boat alone and had just finished his test drive. He was heading back in when about fifty yards from shore he hit an underwater stump causing the boat to veer sharply and he was thrown out! AND he had no life jacket on! He was in grave danger from the unmanned boat circling wildly, but when he hit that icy-cold water, he knew he was in trouble, big time. Treading water, he immediately started trying to shed his heavy water-sodden coat and shoes, which was a heavy struggle and wore him down quickly. By then the frigid water temperature had permeated his entire body, and though he was a good swimmer, he quickly became immobilized and began sinking fast.
Meanwhile, Larry and my two sisters were watching in horror from the bank. The women started running up and down the bank, crying and screaming, but Larry kept his cool. Still in his leg cast from the accident, he spotted an abandoned row-boat on the river bank. It was in a state of disrepair, visible leaks everywhere, but the situation was desperate so he grabbed an old board lying nearby, jumped in the boat, and paddled out to rescue his drowning brother-in-law. By the time he got there, Richard had gone completely underwater but had the presence of mind to hold his arm up high over his head as he went down. Larry could barely reach his hand that had slowly sunk under the water surface, but he managed to grasp it and struggling mightily, pulled Richard into the boat.
