(Inspired by The Finger Lie – Episode 50.

My first summer working at scout camp, I was only 15… not much older than many of the campers. I was put in charge of a weekly crosscut saw competition… you know, those big 2-man lumber saws. One week, the guys who were working the saw back and forth managed to jump it out of the groove. The kid that was holding the log yanked his hands away.

The first words out of his mouth were “I’m OK… it didn’t get me.” Then he lifted his hands up to show us and the skin across both thumb knuckles split open to reveal the bone, followed by a flow of blood.

I yank on a pair of first-aid gloves but they ripped. So I just grabbed his hands with my bandanna and lift them into the air to slow the bleeding. Fortunately some older staffers saw and came to my rescue. The kid didn’t even need stitches, I think, just some good bandages.

The ultimate punchline was that he’d just completed the “Extreme Frontier Camping” program, where he had lived in the woods throwing hatchets, forging metal and all kinds of dangerous stuff only to get hurt on the “fun night” at the very end! – Luke from Michigan

Thanks for the story Luke! I can understand why The Finger Lie story reminded you of this experience. And I can also tell that this story is very true. There is a very specific series of events when you or someone near you cut the crizzle out of yourself.

First something sharp happens. You look to see if you got… got. You notice the slice before you feel it… and it doesn’t seem that bad. Then it fills with blood and the pain kicks in. Then, if the cut is bad enough, your head starts to spin and your mouth starts to water. My head is spinning just thinking about it.

That kid is lucky that he didn’t lose his fingers… so is my brother, David. They’re lucky that they had uncoordinated males with sharp objects around who, though clumsy, were still careful.

Something like that.