On illegal parking...

A great source of entertainment and amusement for me has always been simple human behavior.

Have you ever noticed the antics of those who park their cars illegally…? There is a compulsion to turn on their four-way flashers before they dash off to do whatever it is they need to. Let’s face it, nobody parked legally has their four-ways on. Now I suppose they do so to impart to the parking control Nazis that they will only be there for a brief moment. They are acknowledging that they have parked illegally, but will only be there for a short while. It’s kind of like an apologetic move on their part. But as we all know, there exists this chasm between perception and reality.

So… this is how this type of scenario normally plays out:

Perception: Their message: “Please don’t ticket me… I will only be here for a second!”

Reality: What the parking Nazis read: “HEY… HERE I AM…!!!! THE CAR WITH THE FLASHING LIGHTS TO GRAB YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION…!!! YEAH, THAT’S ME…!!! I NEED A PARKING TICKET…!! I DEMAND TO HAVE A PARKING TICKET…!!! ANY OF YOU METER ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WITH EXTRA PARKING TICKETS, STEP RIGHT UP…!!!”

Poor you… had you not engaged your four-ways, the parking enforcement officer would have carried on his/her usual route, arriving upon your car in due time. Maybe even buying you a few extra minutes, enough to get back to your car and make your getaway. But, no… You had to alert him/her to the fact that you are indeed parked illegally and he/she will make a beeline for your car in particular, like you were a bleeding tuna amidst a pack of sharks. You are the limping Thompson’s Gazelle at the Serengeti watering hole…

People are just funny…

On the siege in Algeria...

If the recent siege in Algeria has taught us anything, it should be that as long as there are ‘islamic militants’ held behind bars, someone will attempt to free them by holding others hostage. The solution to this is of course a simple one. There should be no jail anywhere that houses ‘islamic militants’. For one, there is no such thing. They are not ‘militants’, they are terrorists. And the only good terrorist, is a dead one. They cannot be educated, they cannot be reasoned with, they cannot be converted to our way of thinking, they cannot even be taught tolerance towards others. They are ‘defective’ in every possible way there is. They should not be captured, or detained, or ‘held over for trial’. They should be shot out of hand, wherever they are found.




It is a profound insult that these mad dogs should be housed and fed at the expense of the very societies which they seek to destroy. Western societies seem blinded by this misguided ethos of wanting to assume ‘the moral high ground’. Or at least to be seen as treading such. “If we behave as they do, then we are no better”, some might quip. Horeseshit…!!! If you let your mortal enemies live, they will NOT suddenly develop a conscience or a moral compass. Or understanding, or humanity. They will simply regroup to attack you again… and again… and again… It boggles the mind that our fearless leaders of the West have not caught on to this salient fact yet. Maybe it’s high time that we wrap our heads around the fact that if we are not at least as ruthless as these psychos are, we will forever be at the losing end. This is no place for applying the ‘Marquess of Queensbury’ rules. This is no civilized session of fisticuffs we’re talking about here. This is all and out war.



As with the situation in Mali, it is no victory if an assault on a town results in the terrorists simply running away. If allowed to survive, they will be back. You can count on it. Sufficient resources must be made available by all the world’s developed countries, so that these lunatics can be pursued and hunted down like the infected vermin they are. These fuckers should and must be terminated with extreme prejudice. Every single last one of them…



The conduct of these individuals runs contrary to not only the Hague and Geneva Conventions, but also the Articles of War, where such prisoners upon being captured should be treated as spies, and falls under the section dealing with Treachery and Perfidy:



********************************************



Treachery and Perfidy





“Misuse of the Red Cross



Misuse of a Flag of Truce



Misuse of enemy uniforms, flags, nation emblems or insignia



Misuse of cultural property



Pretending to be a civilian



Pretending to surrender



Pretending to be wounded



Pretending to be a United Nations Peacekeeper.



Misuse of Red Cross, Red Crescent and Cultural Property Symbols





Use of these symbols is restricted to facilities or transport exclusively engaged in medical duties or recognized cultural property.



Law of War provides that wounded and sick, hospitals, medical vehicles, and in some cases, medical aircraft be respected and protected.



Feigning Surrender



Feigning surrender or intent to negotiate under a flag of truce.



A white flag is an indication of a desire to negotiate only and its holder has the burden to come forward.



(Remember the Falklands War scenario.)



Use of Enemy Property



Combatants may wear enemy uniforms (for example, to infiltrate) but cannot fight in them.



Military personnel not wearing their uniform lose their PW status if captured and risk being treated as spies.”



*****************************************************



There is a school of thought which pooh-poohs the idea of treating these so-called militants as ‘unlawful conbatants’. In their minds, they should be treated as ‘civilians’, so as to be afforded the protection offered by the Fourth Section of the Geneva Convention.



Truth is, if you are not wearing a uniform which distinguishes you from civilians, you are not a combatant. So why should they be granted the protection of the Third Convention reserved for enemy combatants? The very nature of their acts precludes them from being considered civilians.



The same people who reject these terrorists being designated as ‘unlawful combatants’ (a term coined by then U.S. President George W. Bush), are fearful of the notion that our ‘civilized society’ would cast these individuals into a ‘legal vacuum’. Let’s face it, when you operate outside of the laws of every established country in the World, you are flaunting your disdain and contempt for these selfsame ‘laws’. You are de facto rejecting them. Therefore they should not apply to the perpetrators. I love how people who install themselves as ‘legal watchdogs’ find the gall to preach to those who must confront the end results of their shortsighted decisions. Like most watchdogs, these people seem to be blissfully unaware of the world outside the range of their chain. The story would likely be a far different one should any of their precious loved ones be dispatched by these savages.



I somehow think I am not the only person in the West who believes this…

When asked for your SIN number...

Okay... this really shouldn't need to be said, but considering the folks that we deal with, I reckon it is. There seems to be a need when speaking with a government department, to try and impress them in some way. When someone asks you for your social insurance number, or any other pertinent piece of personal information, please refrain from reacting as though they have just screamed: "ONE... TWO... THREE... GO...!!!!!" We are not holding a stopwatch on you, nor are we holding auditions for budding fucking auctioneers. Why do most people try to rattle off their social insurance numbers as fast as they possibly can...??? Are you so totally clueless to the fact that the person on the other end of the line has asked you that, so they can copy it down and use it to verify that you are who you claim to be?

Jesus... Give your head a shake. Why would someone feel compelled to do this...??? Do you think we might find this impressive...? Commendable...??? Noteworthy, perhaps...??? Really...????

Take a breath and speak normally. It will make everyone a whole lot happier...

On things I have learned...

I was going to preface this entry with: “In the last 2 ½ years + since my riding accident…”, but that would be a glaring inaccuracy. So let me rephrase that, if I may.

In the last 2 ½ years since some asshole in a pickup truck, through his own stupidity and ineptitude tried unsuccessfully to kill me, I have stumbled upon certain realizations. These are neither good, bad or indifferent, but simply things that have become more apparent to me. Observations or realizations that may or may not have happened otherwise. I was given the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a disabled person, as for a period of time I was amongst their ranks. Notably during the months when I was confined to a motorized wheelchair. These are some of the observations that came to mind during that period:

1. Not all places of business are accessible to the infirm/disabled.

2. Planning a simple outing becomes more of a strategy session.

3. Not all restaurant tables are the same height, allowing access for a wheelchair.

4. When sitting in a wheelchair in the back of an accessible taxi hurtling along a freeway, you develop a new understanding of the term ‘vulnerable’.

5. Most wheelchair accessible taxi drivers are in fact ex-Le Mans drivers.

6. When convalescing, spending a couple of hours in a mall can feel like a trip to Paris.

7. Texting pedestrians in malls can be used as pylons for honing your manoeuvring skills with your wheelchair.

8. A 400 lb. motorized wheelchair will move any pedestrian with ease.

9. Wheelchairs and conventional doorframes are often a bad mix.

10. If you are in a wheelchair, many people will avoid eye contact.

11. Those who do see you in a wheelchair, will often go out of their way to help.

12. Not all sidewalks are created (or maintained) equal.

13. Crossing an intersection in a wheelchair can be downright exciting.

14. You can’t plan events for the following morning if you don’t plug your chair in at night.

15. Most people cannot walk as fast as you can roll. Gear it down some…

16. Trying to do wheelies in a wheelchair is never a good idea.

17. A wall will give before a wheelchair does.

18. Most coffee shop employees are a Godsend to disabled folks.

19. Dogs are curious about wheelchairs and seem to understand that you’ve had a rough go.

20. Motorized wheelchairs are some of the best items ever produced by our technology, for those who really need them.

21. Priority seating on busses IS a good idea.

22. Ontario does possess the absolute worst drivers in Canada.

23. When you find yourself having to walk with a cane, you realize that you are in a different societal class.

24. Physical limitations can be treated as challenges, but they remain limitations nonetheless.

25. The realization that your quality of life has forever changed, engenders a feeling of loss which is constant.

26. It is at times hard to discern if one is feeling bitterness or wistfulness, when thinking of one's previous life. And is there in fact a difference between the two?

27. Regardless of what physical activities you might have engaged in before an accident, it is at times distressing to realize that so many are now closed to you as a result of same.

28. The new 'normal' is anything but...

Like any other unexpected journey we take in our life, this one has been filled with surprises, challenges and learning points. This does not negate the bad effects of this incident, nor does it make it any more palatable... but it does go to show that even if you're forced to eat a shit sandwich, you might just discover that you like rye bread. Or something like that... 

Free the Orcas...

Okay... so here's the thing. I'm sure most people have heard about the recent event in Northern Quebec, where a pod of errant Orcas were trapped by the ice. They were extremely fortunate this time around and Mother Nature decided to intervene by shifting the prevailing winds which in turn shifted and broke up the ice pack, freeing them temporarily from a certain doom.

This incident hit the social media sites and went viral, prompting hordes of ignorant (albeit well-meaning) people, to go out of their minds and assail Fisheries and Oceans Canada and other federal entities with calls and emails. Apparently the morons who set up these various web pages were exhorting readers to deluge the federal government with calls, in the pompous and misguided belief that: "If we bring enough pressure to bear on the Canadian government, they will surely have to act and save these poor creatures from a horrible fate".

Seriously...??? There are so many things wrong with that statement, it's hard to know where to begin to tear it apart. It is based not only on a profound ignorance and a fundamental lack of understanding of Canada's physical geography, notably in the Far North, but it also showcases their lack of understanding of the mandate and purpose of Fisheries and Oceans Canada/Canadian Coast Guard.

There is also of course, this vapid mindset of those who believe that every animal on this planet should be saved from the clutches of Nature's law of natural selection. Those who believe that we humans, since we are doing such a bang-up job of nurturing and protecting the planet and one another, should be entrusted now to dictate how animals deal with their natural surroundings. Are you kidding me...?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is dismayed with our current societal ethos of: "If it makes it out of the womb, it should be kept alive...". But that is another story altogether. It has become crystal clear that our only involvement with the wild animals which inhabit our planet, should be as spectators. Animals are far better equipped to survive and thrive in this world than we are. We cannot and should not treat animals like 'people'. That only reinforces our own ignorance and cannot bode well for their survival.

Instances like these where animals are entrapped by ice in the Far North, for as distressing as they are, are literally yearly events. They should serve as a primer in the law of Natural Selection at work. I have no doubt that many humans believe themselves above such laws. We consider ourselves able to outsmart Nature and that we are doing everyone a favor by extending our 'intelligent choices' to animals. Nothing of course, could be further from the truth. DFO and the Coast Guard have fielded suggestions ranging from dropping wrecking balls on the ice, to using dynamite in proximity of these trapped animals, to heli-carrying them out in slings. Again, desperation and thinking with one's emotions rather than one's intellect, can lead people to say some pretty dumb things.

DFO was very much aware of the situation from the onset. The problem lay with whether anything could logically and reasonably be done about it. And to be fair, DFO was and is not responsible for 'fixing' these types of situations. Regardless of how much "pressure was brought to bear on them" by people largely from outside this country, the federal government of Canada is not an animal rescue organization. Ranting, insulting, and demeaning federal departments and those who work in their service by the way, does not constitute or create 'pressure'. Disdain, yes. Annoyance, yes. Inconvenience, yes. Tying up phone lines that are there to serve the public across Canada, yes. Frustration at the consistent level of stupidity and arrogance which exists out there amongst self-appointed messiahs and the great unwashed, yes. But definitely not pressure. A misinterpretation of reality on your part, does not constitute the need to change the operational mandate of a federal government department. You might as well be clamoring for us to paint all Tanzanian elephants blue, because your dog is dyslexic. It makes exactly the same amount of sense...

The Quebec Region does have a Marine Mammal Response Program in place, whose responsibility it is to respond to incidents which involve marine mammals. You should read up on it via Fisheries and Oceans Canada's website. Like ALL marine mammal rescue organizations, they are private organizations, which also benefit from the input of DFO marine biologists. So no, they are NOT "the government". Their jurisdiction or area of responsibility however, is limited to the waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway and it's estuary. That's it... This does not and logically cannot extend to the frozen waters of the Hudson Bay.

One of the more popular pipe-dreams that surfaces in cases like this, is the suggestion of "driving up there with an icebreaker". This seems to be the favored solution for a panoply of situations. It is after all, the very reason why we have such vessels, is it not? No, it isn't... Let me explain something here...

Icebreakers exist to ensure the safety of navigation in Canada's waterways. Canada is a Maritime nation of the first order. Our shoreline extends 243,000 kilometers. It is literally, the longest in the World. At the time this incident was taking place, it is actually winter in ALL parts of Canada. Including one of our most vital marine shipping routes, the St. Lawrence River and Seaway. This area regularly becomes icebound in the winter and requires an almost never-ending amount of icebreaking and ice clearing services. That is where the CCG icebreaker(s) assigned to DFO's Quebec Region were busily carrying out their duties. For them to suspend their duties and jeopardize the safety of Canadian shipping, in order to undertake a 14 day sea voyage (there and back...) to Hudson Bay (not to mention the cost of keeping a vessel like this at sea on a per diem basis), in order to intervene in a natural event... well that would require a political decision and not one which could be made solely by either Fisheries and Oceans Canada or the Canadian Coast Guard.

True, there is certainly at least one icebreaker servicing the Newfoundland and Labrador Region, but again, it's responsibility lies with the protection of navigational safety in that specific region of Canada. And believe me, they are kept busy in those northern waters. In total (Canada wide) the Canadian Coast Guard has a fleet of 18 icebreaking vessels. I cannot speak with any authority on their deployment, availability or state of operational readiness, to say nothing about crew availability. The Hudson Bay, where this particular entrapment took place, covers some 1,230,000 square kilometers, or 740,000 square miles. The Arctic and Hudson Bay are accessible for only six months of the year, leaving a very short navigation season for the resupply of Northern settlements and military sites. Still, if dispatching an icebreaker had been a realistic and reasonable response to this event, I have no doubt that DFO and the Coast Guard would have weigned this option as well.


The widespread and simplistic views shared by scores of people loitering on these social media sites, is that it's a simple matter of grabbing the keys and driving a ship up to Hudson Bay to free these orcas... Again, demonstrating an apalling lack of knowledge regarding the immensity of this country and the environmental conditions of it's northern climes. When they refer to this area of Canada as 'The Far North', it's not simply some quaint little nickname that someone decided to coin.

Some of the other suggestions offered up by those who "wanted to show that they knew a thing or two", made reference of commandeering a Hercules aircraft from CFB Trenton to fly heaters or other such gear up there. CFB Trenton is home to among other RCAF entities, the main JRCC (Joint Rescue Coordination Center) for Central and Arctic Canada. They belong to the Canadian Armed Forces. The Royal Canadian Air Force, to be specific... Again, neither within the domain nor the purview of  DFO or the Canadian Coast Guard. They can address their questions to the RCAF's 436 Squadron, who will be able to inform them in short order who they actualy receive their marching (or in this case, flying) orders from.

As for Trenton's 424 Rescue and Transport Squadron, I don't think they would consider freeing up SAR (Search and Rescue) assets for a situation like this, owing to the fact that they are responsible for a staggering  10,000,000 square kilometer area. Yes... that's Ten Million Square Kilometers...

So yes... to our American, European and even our Canadian callers who vociferously bent our collective ears over this incident, Canada is a really, really, really big country. No, it is not realistic to think or believe that every animal can be saved from death by misadventure on their part. This is actually how the world turns, whether you decide to accept and embrace this truth or not. So the next time you get the urge to jump on a bandwagon initiated by some self-appointed saviour of the Earth, do yourself a favor and research the topic and the location of the purported event a little. This will hopefully prevent you from feeling foolish when the facts are made plain for you to see.

As a side note, for you polar bear lovers out there, all the commotion around the ice hole where the orcas were trapped attracted a large polar bear to the scene. Polar bears are also a species of concern in the Far North. Their survival is also being put in jeopardy by the changes in the Earth's climate, very much as the orcas were. This bear was unceremoniously shot on the spot. Had we humans not been there, he would still be alive, going about his business. So... spare me this type of 'selective empathy' for the animals with which we share this planet.

I am not the most intelligent person I know. I can list quite a few people to whom I would defer on a number of topics. I consider myself only somewhat educated, as education for any individual, ought to be a life-long process. But I do like to pride myself on being intelligent. The two, in passing, are not always mutually inclusive. There are no end to the people out there who are 'over-educated and under-smart'. Yet for all of my so-called lack of sophistication or degrees after my family name on a letterhead, I feel so-ooooo much more clued-in than people I have been speaking to of late.

I can understand, even empathize with people who give voice to their concerns regarding the preservation of animal life on this planet. I myself am a great proponent of this. It is hard, if not impossible not to be moved by the videos which have been circulating online over the last few days. I get it. But you have to termper this concern with a healthy dose of reality as to how things actually are. If the videos upset you to that degree, then here's an idea... don't watch them. I know we all possess a certain amount of morbid voyeurism, which draws our eye to some terrible spectacle when we are confronted by it. It's like the feeling of happening on a bad car accident. You know you shouldn't look, but somehow you can't help yourself. But you have to know how to cut it off. The world rarely operates following our whims and wishes, specifically when we are talking about the elements of Nature itself.

GTFOI... 

Another Shark Attack in West Australia

The following article comes from an online newspaper in Perth, WA:

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/national/surfer-ben-linden-fatally-mauled-in-wa-shark-attack/story-fndor8bb-1226426810385




WESTERN Australia's reputation as the world's deadliest place for shark attacks is hurting tourism and the federal government should consider lifting the ban on fishing of great whites, the state government says.



With the search called off on Sunday afternoon (WST) for the great white believed to have killed 24-year-old Perth man Ben Linden on Saturday, WA Fisheries Minister Norman Moore said he was "very distressed" by the death and the state's shark attack toll of five deaths in 10 months.



He issued orders on Saturday for staff from his department to kill any sharks measuring four to five metres in length - the estimated size of the shark that attacked Mr Linden - in the area of the latest attack.



The 4m killer, dubbed Brutus by surfers near Wedge Island, 180km north of Perth, mauled Mr Linden as he surfed with a mate about 9am.



"Five fatalities in Western Australia (in 10 months) is unprecedented and cause for great alarm," Mr Moore said.



"It won't be helping our tourism industry and those people who want to come here to enjoy an ocean experience will be turned away because of this situation."



Mr Linden's girlfriend Alana Noakes said yesterday she had been left devastated by the tragedy.



On her Facebook page she said of her boyfriend: "Ben was the most amazing man, he lit up the lives of all who knew him."



"He was the most talented, good-natured, beautiful person I've ever met. He was the love of my life, my best friend, my rock and my soulmate."



Mr Linden's own Facebok page was flooded with moving and emotional tributes.



Dave Beckett wrote that Mr Linden was one of the most genuine blokes he knew.



"I'll treasure our chats and regret the number of times we planned to do something but didn't," Mr Beckett said.



Another friend wrote: "Your energy, drive and passion for music, surfing and life in general will be greatly missed bud."



Cabinetmaker Mr Linden was also a singer and bassist in Perth band Fools Rush In, which featured on radio Triple J's national unearthed segment.



Local police and volunteers are expected to continue to comb beaches for Mr Linden's remains, which have yet to be recovered, while beaches in the immediate area will remain closed for at least two days.



Fisheries officials called off the hunt for the shark yesterday afternoon because they had not seen any large sharks in the area, but Mr Moore said he would lift a protection order on great whites if the federal government did the same.



He said he would lobby Canberra to allow commercial and recreational fishing of the species, saying there was anecdotal evidence great white numbers had recovered significantly since they were first protected in Australia in the 1990s.



However, he would not be sanctioning state shark hunts or culls.



Shark nets were not the answer, either, as they killed whales and other marine life.



Mr Moore said the community was "divided" over reducing great white shark numbers and that more research was needed to plot their migration and feeding habits.



Swimmers and surfers could reduce the risk of attack by not entering the water at dawn, dusk or on overcast days, the fisheries minister said.



"Regrettably, people are being taken by sharks in numbers which we have never seen before," he said.



"We need to try to work out to the best of our capacity what is causing this to happen.



"I'm totally perplexed."



Mr Moore said he was also alarmed at reports in today's The Sunday Times that some people had spotted a large shark near Wedge Island this week but appeared to have not reported it to authorities.



"I do ask people if they are going swimming or boating and they see a shark, please report the shark to the Water Police," he said.



A jet-ski rider who tried to retrieve the Mr Linden's body said yesterday it was a "massive, massive white shark" and "there was blood everywhere".



The shark tried to knock Matt Holmes, 22, off his jet ski as he attempted to pull the man on to the back of his craft.



Then the shark returned to take the lifeless body for a second time.



"By the time I got out there half of him had been taken and the shark was circling," Mr Holmes said of the attack.



"I tried to lean off the side and pull him on the back, but as I did that, the shark came back and nudged the jet ski to try to knock me off.



"When I came back the second time, he took the rest of him. I just thought about his family and if he had kids. I just wanted to get him to shore. I gave it everything I had."



When the victim's mate yelled for help, Mr Holmes, who was towing a friend at the time, turned his jet ski to help.



"I was towing my mate on the back of the jet ski and just in front of us saw a guy get attacked by a shark," he said at the scene.



"I just took my mate to the shore and went straight out and there was just blood everywhere and a massive, massive white shark circling the body.



"I reached to grab the body and the shark came at me on the jet ski and tried to knock me off and I did another loop and when I came back to the body the shark took it."



Yesterday's fatal mauling comes just three months after 33-year-old diver Peter Kurmann was killed by a shark off the South-West coast.



Bodyboarder Kyle Burden, 21, was killed near Bunker Bay in September, Bryn Martin, 64, disappeared while swimming off Cottesloe in October and American George Thomas Wainwright, 32, died after an attack while scuba diving off Rottnest Island, also in October.



Last month, 62-year-old surf lifesaver Martin Kane was rescued by a fellow paddler when a shark attacked his surf ski at Mullaloo Beach.



Department of Fisheries shark expert Rory McAuley said there had been an "unprecedented" number of fatal shark attacks off WA over the past two years.



Local resident and volunteer nurse Anne McGuiness, who has lived on Wedge Island for 36 years, was among the first to arrive on the scene yesterday.



"It was very, very sad indeed," she said.



"There was a group of about 12 boys surfing and when I got here they were very distraught on the beach."



Witnesses said the victim and his friend were only 80m from shore when the attack happened and the pair had walked several kilometres to reach the remote surf spot.





It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what is causing this spate of shark attacks off WA. Perhaps it's their continued insistence in offering themselves up as appetizers, which is the main contributing factor to these attacks. I'm just sayin'...



If you don't want to get attacked by a shark... stay out of the water...!!! That's like trying to ban trains because you like playing on the train tracks... Honestly, some people's kids...

Silly, silly people...

Good afternoon, my friends!




Did you ever read a news headline that just made you smile? I mean, when there is no need to even read any further into the article to understand exactly what happened and why? I was perusing an online website in the USA, when I happened on this most entertaining story.



Apparently some yobbo from the Great State of Texas was texting while driving and he drove right off a friggin’ cliff.



Now, I suppose there might have been a time in my life where I would have been tempted to shake my head in either bewilderment or exasperation upon reading such things, but I have long since reconciled myself to the fact that we are all subject to the Law of Natural Selection, whether we decide to admit it or not.



So nowadays instead of being distraught or even feeling the slightest hint of sympathy or empathy for these mental midgets, I just smile, secure in the knowledge that Mother Nature is hard at work, trying to make this planet a little safer for the rest of us.



Here’s the link for this news item if you feel so inclined to check it out:

http://www.wsfa.com/story/19176838/man-who-drove-off-cliff-while-texting-warns-others



Enjoy!





P.



The text reads as below:



Man texts, "I need to quit texting," before driving off cliff

Posted: Aug 02, 2012 8:09 AM EDT Updated: Aug 02, 2012 8:28 AM EDT

By Tricia Forbes - bio
email



Updated: Thursday, August 2 2012 8:28 AM EDT2012-08-02 12:28:22 GMT



HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) -

A college student from Texas believes he is lucky to be alive after a terrible crash. He was texting and driving when his truck flew off of a cliff.

Chance Bothe's truck plunged off of a bridge and into a ravine. One of the last things he typed indicated what almost happened to him.

He wrote, "I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident."

After the crash, Chance had a broken neck, a crushed face, a fractured skull, and traumatic brain injuries. Doctors had to bring him back to life three times . Now, 6 months later, he's finally able to talk about what happened.

"They just need to understand, don't do it. Don't do it. It's not worth losing your life," he said. "I went to my grandmother's funeral not long ago, and I kept thinking, it kept jumping into my head, I'm surprised that's not me up in that casket. I came very close to that, to being gone forever."

Chance's father said, if he had a child just learning to drive, he would disable texting and Internet on their phone.

As of August 1st, drivers in Alabama will face a $25 fine the first time they are caught texting behind the wheel.