Friday, May 30, 2003

By Rick Ryckeley
Fayette County Fire & Emergency Services

Mister Safety here, and once again it's time for my Summertime Safety Tips. Whether you are staying here or off to an exotic location for a month vacation, after reading this article you can be assured of a fun, safe summer.

If Mom or Dad read such an article when we were young, maybe our summers would have been a lot safer, but they didn't have the time to read. They were always too busy during the summer taking one of us to the hospital.

Living on Flamingo Street, Mom and Dad knew it was the start of summer vacation time not when the weather started to get hot, not when we got out of school, or when we came in covered with dirt after a day's worth of digging down at Cliff Condos. No, they knew it was the start of the summer vacation season when one of us boys had to take a trip to the hospital. Unintentional injuries are the number one health risk that face children 14 and under. Growing up, we boys and The Sister helped to contribute to that statistic.

That first summer on Flamingo Street, Big Brother James started our summer vacation season off right with a trip to the hospital. Two days before we were to leave for Florida, he was riding his bike and fell off. Well, fell off his bike isn't exactly correct, it was more like he was crashed into and got knocked off. Wonder by whom?

You could hear Down-The-Street Bully Brad coming before he got halfway down Flamingo Street. Brad's dad had cut pieces of bear cans into small strips and attached them to the frame of his bike by way of clothespins. The edge of the metal strips were stuck in between the spokes of his front and back tires. When Bully Brad rode around he sounded like a swarm of angry bees - very loud bees ­ when he crashed into you.

Big Brother James went flying off the bike, his head hitting the curb. When Down-The-Street Bully Brad saw the blood, he took off, the sound of angry bees following him home. A quick trip to the hospital to see Dr. Jim and ten stitches later, Big Brother James was out riding his bike looking for Down-The-Street Bully Brad. He said he was just gonna show him how many stitches he got, but I think he wanted to find him for another reason. If only they had bike helmets 35 years ago, our vacation to Florida wouldn't have been cancelled and James wouldn't have that scar above his left eye today.

Three weeks later, we tried to go to Florida again. Dad packed the suitcases in the green station wagon with wood panels, and when he was through, he packed us in too. He pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street, but just passed Blabber Mouth Betsy's house we heard the familiarly sound of angry bees. Dad hit the brakes, and I hit the back of the front seat. Dad didn't know that kids under eight years old and four feet, nine inches tall should be in a car seat. If only they had car seats 35 years ago, our vacation to Florida would not have been cancelled and I wouldn't have broken my arm when Dad dodged Down-The-Street Bully Brad and his bike.

Two weeks later, Twin Brother Mark was helping Dad with the Fourth of July Bar-B-Que. He didn't think Dad had put enough lighter fluid on the charcoals. When Dad went inside to get the chicken, Twin Brother Mark got the lighter fluid and squirted more on the red hot coals. He didn't know you're not supposed to add fluid to coals once they are lit. Twin Brother Mark's eyebrows grew back in by the end of summer, but once again our vacation to Florida was postponed.

It was two weeks before school started, and Dad told us we were all going to Disney World in three days. He just had to finish some repair work at the apartment complex. Dad owned a small apartment building when I was growing up, and things were always in need of repair. In the basement of the complex, he had built a laundry room with three washers and two commercial dryers. When Dad was upstairs fixin' stuff, he thought we were outside playing on the baseball court, but we were really in the basement playing Dryer Spin. He would never have known any different, and we would have gone on our trip to Disney World if it hadn't been for The Sister.

A dime in the upright dryer, turn the dial to "no heat," add one kid, close the door and it was like a ride at Disney World! We boys had all taken a turn when The Sister came walking into the basement wanting to play. We told her how to play Dryer Spin, but we forgot to tell her to tap on the door when she wanted to stop. When the dryer stopped, The Sister fell out and broke her wrist, ending any future Dry Spin games along with our last chance for a summer vacation.

This summer when your kids ride bikes have them wear helmets, and when they ride scooters have them also wear wrist guards, knee and elbow pads. Children younger than eight and under four-foot-nine should be in a child safety seat. Don't add lighter fluid to a fire and if you have boys, make sure they know not to put their sister in the dryer.

[Rick Ryckeley is employed by the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. He can be reached at firemanr@bellsouth.net.]

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