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 [email protected].]