| Yahoo Alert |
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| Written by Mike Kord |
| Sunday, 18 May 2008 08:39 |
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So I'm driving through an alley earlier tonight, and there's this drunk kid, maybe 24, staggering around, purposely blocking the roadway, all with a smart-ass grin on his face. Stupid ass, I thought. Reminded me of what I saw on the local news about an hour earlier. The recent heat wave had melted an enormous amount of snow, and local rivers were rising fast. A TV news crew went to the Green River yesterday and saw four guys, all of whom looked to be in their 30s, entering the fast-moving, frigid water on two small, poorly inflated rafts that were lashed together. For safety, one gentleman said. They were wearing T-shirts. No PFDs, no helmets. Badasses don't need that stuff, apparently. They interviewed another gentleman and was he ever confident. I've been coming to this river for 13 years, he said, so I know what I'm doing. It would have been comical if it hadn't ended so tragically. The TV camera followed the four men and recorded the one who said he knew what he was doing stranded on a sandbar. He was lucky enough to be rescued by a cataraft. Funny, the operator of the cat was wearing a helmet and PFD. What a wuss, apparently. Here's where it gets sad, though. Another of the four men got dumped and was last seen doggie-paddling to shore. Didn't make it. His lifejacket-less body hasn't been found more than 24 hours later. A kayaker, who was wearing a PFD, was also reported missing from the river. Authorities closed the Green and nearby Cedar Rivers shortly thereafter. It was 90 degrees yesterday, but the water was snow probably just 12 hours earlier. When the weather gets warm, it's easy to think you need less gear. If you're reading this, you probably care enough about paddling to know better than these four guys. You're responsible for yourself, so make the right call. There were probably thousands of such yahoos on the water this weekend, and if you saw them, they were probably doing just fine. It may have crossed your mind that you were overdressed and over-geared to the point of nerdiness. Delete that thought. You know what gear you need to have and, probably just as important, when to go paddling and when to mow the lawn. Too bad these four guys didn't. |
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