How I Almost Ended My Life at 6 Years Old

Posted on by Joyful2bee
Sister and I
Sister #1 age 4 (L) and I (R) age (6).

I was always a curious child, full of questions, taking in information especially from the adult world that I didn’t always comprehend. I did love to be read to and had watched lots of Westerns on TV. One part of the Westerns I was in love with were the horses. That’s a story for another time. But there was something that puzzled me at the precocious age of almost 6. What happened when the bad guys were hung? What did it feel like?

My curiosity almost did to me what it did to the proverbial curious cat. I decided to see what it felt like to be hung. But my understanding of what a hanging entailed was limited, given the sparse information on television about what happened during and after a hanging. Censorship of entertainment was different on such things at that time. Now you see dead bodies hanging from a limb on historical shows, and you know what happens basically.

So for some unknown reason I had a concept of hanging as someone with a rope around their neck. That was as far as I understood. Mother used a clothesline back then to “hang” our clothes out to dry. (Maybe there was a connection between the two kinds of hangings? ).

To be safe for us kids, she had carefully knotted the long end of the clothesline to the swing set at the highest point, far out of my reach (or so she thought) and to the nearby tree. Well, I was tall for my age and could “skin a cat” with the best of them. I also had a talent for untangling things and undoing knots.

Our mother was downstairs in the  house sorting clothes and preparing to wash a load of laundry. It was at that time that I, being precocious and focused on understanding this concept of hanging, implemented my plan.

I stood on the A-frame of our swing set and undid her carefully knotted clothesline just enough to tie around my neck and some to hang with.  I had planned to step off the A-Frame and when I felt what this hanging felt like, I would reach with my foot to the seesaw swing and get down.

While actually implementing my plan, there was one major, nearly fatal glitch. I didn’t know that clothes line stretched! I couldn’t get my foot to reach the saving swing!! I still remember reaching desperately with my foot to get out of this scary situation.

Thankfully Sister, although young (about 4 years old), saw me and knew I was in trouble! She ran inside and called down to Moma from the top of the stairs. Moma was about to start the washing machine which would have made it impossible for Mother to hear Sister’s call for help. But Sister’s timing was perfect!

Moma came running up the steps. After lifting my weight off of the clothesline she still couldn’t loosen the knot which had tightened while my weight was suspended on it. She sat me down on something and ran to get a knife to cut the clothesline off of me!

I was told that I had tiny bruises all around my eyes called petechiae, from the back pressure built up in my blood vessels to my brain from the clothesline around my throat.

I will never forget what I heard later. We had several pet ducks in the yard. When I came to, mother told me that I had commented that the ducks stopped quacking while I was hanging there. They were looking at me funny. I wonder to this day if there was an angel protecting me from death because it wasn’t my time to die.

Thank you, Sister, for saving my life! Thank you Mother for being so fast on your feet. I am sorry for taking several years off of of your life with that scare! Thank you, Angel and God.

Nevertheless I continued to pursue other safer interests after that! My curiosity did not wane. Instead of first hand experiences at least for a while, I asked questions and looked at books.

If only Google and computers had been around back then!

33 thoughts on “How I Almost Ended My Life at 6 Years Old”

  3. I too think that your guardian Angels were on heavy duty that day! Glad they were!
    Hey, I tried clicking on your name and nothing came up and I noticed that you don’t have a lot of followers yet and you are such a great writer there is no reason for that except that for some reason I can’t pull you up when I click on your name and if you didn’t link your blog address with your gravatar, that would be why.
    A friend wrote great instructions about how to do it and I try to share it when I find a good blog that needs a boost!
    http://nostolencatpictures.com/2013/08/24/gravitar-links/
    It’s easy and a must to allow people to find you! I don’t know why wordpress doesn’t explain this when you join it!

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    1. Wow! Thank you so much!! I have been tinkering with the site to improve it. I am so glad you told me about this!! Great!

      Writing gave me a voice. I was married to a very brilliant man who was a linear thinker. I have so many ideas and writing helps me organize and share. Since his death I am finding that a lot of people seem to enjoy my stories. It feels soooo good to be appreciated!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Thank you so much for sharing that link!! I have all kinds of connections now!! I just did not understand what Gravatar was!! Really appreciate the help!! Hugs!!!!

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  4. Pingback: Been There; Done That | joyful2beeblogs

    1. Thank you. I think possibly my near death experience made me love life even more. I am so thankful for everything in my life. Thank you, noorainsobiya. I sense a kind and loving person there in you. Hugs!!

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    1. It’s a good thing you didn’t try it! I got saved. lol. I was only about 6 years old. Some kids were trying to fly, I just wanted to see what hanging felt like. lol. My poor mother, I know I shortened her life with that scare!

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  9. Pingback: Westerns And Aging Gracefully | joyful2beeblogs
  10. Pingback: My Poor Guardian Angel(s) – joyful2beeblogs

    1. Me too! I really believe there was a guardian angel there for everything to time out as it did. I could have been brain dead. Mother said that I passed out just before she reached me. That was awfully close!!

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    1. Thank you Myrosagirl. Me too! I am indeed thankful that I was given another chance to live. My poor mother was scared to death when she saw me but rescued me thanks to my sister. I try to live a life of love and compassion for others now.

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