One time I was wiring a house out in the country.  Several of the trades were there.  We went to take a coffee break in the living room area.  We were sitting on the floor with our backs to the wall.

When break time was over we got up to go back to work.  The plumber remained seated on the floor.  One of the guys asked him if he was alright.  He replied “I can’t stand up.”

In those days there were no cell phones.  He was quickly loaded into a car and driven to the hospital as fast as they could go.  We heard the next day he had died before reaching the hospital.  I don’t recall if we ever heard what caused his quick illness and death.  It always seems strange to me that one could die so quickly.

During the time I was working on government work in the wilds of Montana, all of the work crews were provided fans to keep the air moving in the deep recesses where we were working.

One of the welders was careless about his fan, claiming he didn’t need it, even though some of his welding occurred 60 to 70 feet down in the ground.

One morning he didn’t wake up.

Though you don’t want to give up on life, sometimes going quickly seems advantageous compared to a lingering, ailment filled span of months or years.  In any case it is good to remember that we could go at anytime.

It also reminds us that Safety Precautions on the job are there for our protection.  It is not a good idea to ignore them.

Remember, babies and electricity do not mix.

When our oldest son was about two years old he climbed up on the couch.  He pulled a reading lamp into his lap.  Our backs were turned for a moment.  He unscrewed the bulb and was putting his finger in the socket.

Fortunately the switch was off.

Today’s light bulbs do not put out as much heat.  Therefore there is no inherent preventative to detach a hot bulb and put a finger in a light socket.

Other appliances can be dangerous to youngsters too.  Our neighbor’s child picked up the cord to the sewing machine while the mother was sewing, put the cord into his mouth, and bit into it.  The resulting shock injured the child’s mouth so badly, reconstructive surgery was needed later.