Camels are not nice animals... Everything they do the do under protest. At night they disappear in the darkness and, because Saudi is all open range, they wander in herds of several hundred all over the country.
Here's my camel story... That's how we met the herd as we were coming home from the beach one evening just after dusk. My oldest son was awake sitting in the front seat with his brother when he said, "Daddy, look at all the camels in the lights." It was the lights of a power substation just off the highway. I didn't look at the lights or the camels, I immediately slammed on the brakes so hard I wrenched my back out. I knew they were crossing the road. As the van was screeching to a halt, three camels appeared in the headlights. I veered to the left and went off the road but deliberately hit the last camel in the hind end (the lightest part of the camel) because I didn't know how many were just off in the dark and I didn't want to hit the front or the middle of a camel I couldn't see - that's how people die. When we hit her (all free-range camels are females and all owned by somebody), the right front corner of the camper crumpled, she spun around, her neck stretched out and her 250 pound head came through the rear side window at about 200 miles per hour spraying broken window glass and stinking camel spit (they are ruminants) all over everything. The camel died. I got the van stopped. My oldest son (the 7 year old) jumped out and said he would go flag down a car as I pulled my youngest son (the 5 year old) out, his face a mass of blood from taking the window glass square on. We flagged down the next car, a Saudi man coming home from the beach as well. He took us directly to the clinic about 20 miles away and the doctor pulled out 214 pieces of glass from my youngest son's face and 121 pieces from my oldest son's face. Other than their faces and my back, we were not hurt. The doctor said this was the first camel collision he had seen where the occupants of the car were not all killed. Camels are a horse on stilts and so many times on the side of the road in Saudi we saw cars were the body of the camel was inside the car and the feet were sticking out the front window. My 7 year old son saved our lives and, as I said in my last email, he now has the van and is removing the last vestiges of the camel's butt print 23 years later. He also found more glass shards... Jim on 12/24/05 1:45 PM, Thomas McGrath III wrote: > Jim, > > That sounds like a wonderful history. You know when a friend of mine > died I was 'given' a camel in the will but no one could 'find' the > camel so I did not get it. Long story there but anyway I am glad I > didn't since I now have no place to keep it. I was given the Farm and > sadly have to sell it to pay off his debts. > > Camels, VWs, DJs, and Revolution. Who'd a thunk it... > > Tom >> >> On Dec 24, 2005, at 11:46 AM, Jim Carwardine wrote: >> >>> Sorry forgot the [OT]... Jim >>> >>> on 12/24/05 12:29 PM, Jim Carwardine wrote: >>> >>>> Here's a personal VW bus story... I bought my 74 Type 2 camper >>>> in Saudi >>>> Arabia in 1978. It had been purchased in Holland in 74 and >>>> driven back to >>>> Dhahran. It was then purchased in 75 by a Pakistani friend who >>>> took it to >>>> Mecca on the Hajj. I then bought it, drove it for the next 10 >>>> years in >>>> Saudi, camping at the beach in it most weekends with my 2 small >>>> sons (4 & >>>> 2). When it came time to leave Saudi, I said I would sell it, >>>> but my oldest >>>> son protested. He said it was his brother and I couldn't sell >>>> it. So I >>>> leased a container and shipped it back to Canada. Now 15 years >>>> later, my >>>> oldest son, now 31, still has it and is rebuilding it... Jim >>>> >>>> PS... We (and it) survived a collision with a camel coming home >>>> from the >>>> beach one weekend... >>>> >>>> on 12/21/05 11:18 PM, Scott Kane wrote: >>>> >>>>>> P.S. I love my VW Bus (72 Transporter converted into a Camper >>>>>> Bus). >>>>> >>>>> I've got a 76 in bright orange. It's rather a good >>>>> workhorse (I DJ on weekends and use it for the sound etc). >>>>> >>>>> Scott > > _______________________________________________ > use-revolution mailing list > [email protected] > Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription > preferences: > http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution -- OYF is... Highly resourceful people working together. <http://www.OwnYourFuture-net.com> Own Your Future Consulting Services Limited, 1959 Lower Water Street, Suite 1700, Halifax, Nova Scotia. B3J 3N2 Phone: 902-823-2339. Fax: 902-823-2139 What¹s New... * Have you ever hired an employee who didn¹t work out? * Did you do that on purpose? Probably not... If you want to greatly improve your hiring process, check out our new hiring process... www.HiringSmart.ca/ns <http://www.hiringsmart.ca/ns> and... www.KeepingTheBest.ca/ns <http://www.keepingthebest.ca/ns> _______________________________________________ use-revolution mailing list [email protected] Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
