Are YOU having a mad craving for...

[Fizzlestix]

... a refreshing, beechwood-aged Budweiser?

Or perhaps, like me, you cannot help but stare longingly when you see a sleek Buick out driving on the road.

And do you also share a deep desire to give your money to several needy charity organizations?

If so, then I think we shouldn't be listening to these programs whilst falling asleep any more! hehe

just a bit of humor! Peace out,

Fizz

[vgarci]

Fizz,
Great post! LOL!

[Charlie]

Welcome aboard Fizz.

Charlie

[Fizzlestix]

Thanks, Charlie. I've been here for a while, but I've just been sleeping. I'm a big fan of the CBSRMTs.

Personal favorites: The Last Days of Pompeii - 5 part series.
I remember listening to that as clearly as I remember the theme song to Davey & Goliath.

Glad to be here! thanks again,

Fizz

[Lagavulin]

Heya Fizz -

I was playing The Black Room for my grade 8 students as part of our short story unit. There was the obligatory Bud ad, and the sleek Buick ad, but the one that got the most reaction was the safety council ad about children playing in abandoned refrigerators. My students thought that was the strangest thing - hehehe. We've come a long way in our notions of safety and responsible refuse management!

cheers
miles

[vgarci]

Lag,
I don't recall hearing the refridgerator safety ad but I remember it was a very big deal in my family as a kid. My dad offered a dime for any abondoned refridgerator we could find. His intent was to approach the owners and have it chained shut. I honestly can't recall ever finding a machine and I really don't recall anyone ever being injured or killed by being locked inside a refridgerator so I wonder what stirred this concern.

[Charlie]

I do recall several instances of youngsters being killed by becoming locked in refrigerators in the 1970's. I would hear of that from time to time and I remember that happening near my area at least once that comes to mind.

I think it was more common then to set the old refrigerator out behind the garage. I remember seeing a lot of them around back then in my hometown. Most people with any sense had taken the latches off.

Of course, modern refrigerators don't lock shut and most towns don't allow people to leave those kinds of things setting around on their property.

When I was a high school student I worked at a fast food restaurant and was once locked in a cooler behind the restaurant for a few minutes. Fortunately, they missed me within minutes and came to investigate. I think that another worked had purposely shut the door on me. That's a scary sort of thing.

To make something like that without a handle on the inside should have been criminal.

Charlie

[vgarci]

Charlie,
I had some friends shut me into a confined space as a small kid and leave me for several hours so I've developed a bit of claustophobia. I can't imagine being shut in a cooler....I'd go nuts!

[brian1984_2001]

Those old, mechanical latches on those refrigerators were deathtraps.

I got three strong admonitions from my parents early in life: Don't take rides from strangers, stay out of abandoned mine shafts, and never crawl inside an old refrigerator.

I was aloud to play in the woods near my home armed with that knowledge. Had I violated any of the three, my mother would have kept me inside until I was 18.

As for being claustrophobic: I wasn't until I got stuck in an elevator in an Ohio State dormitory for about 4 hours. The elevator only served the top 16 floors of the dormitory. We were stuck in the lower half, meaning -- as a famous movie advertisement once said -- no one can hear you scream. I'd could live the rest of my life and not repeat that experience.

[Fizzlestix]

It sounds as though a new episode of CBSRMT could emerge from this particular thread...

"Iced By A Cooler," "Chiller Thriller," or maybe "Requiem for a Claustrophobe"... hehe

Claustrophobia topics always remind me of the summer when I worked for a carpenter years ago, installing insulation in an old attic which had only two feet of head room to move around in.

My boss inadvertantly took the ladder that we used to get up into the attic and went off to another job, not realizing I was still up there.

It was pitch black and hotter than blazes. I couldn't stand up, I couldn't lie down, and I was wearing all kinds of protective gear (gloves, goggles, respirator). I remember sitting on a joist for about two hours or so, just trying to keep myself comfortable. I had to switch positions off my bumcheeks so they didn't get numb. It was truly AWFUL!

When my boss returned, he genuinely felt bad, but couldn't help laughing at the situation. I didn't find it very funny, but I do laugh about it now, in "hind"sight.

[vgarci]

Fizzlestix,
I used to install insulation as a college student. I hated the feel of fiberglass and if I needed insulation now, I'd probably hire the job out.

As for being a claustrophobe, I was about 8 years old when I learned to avoid confined spaces. My fear began during a normal day when one of my neighbors decided we should play hide and seek. He was a few years older and his dad owned a small camping trailer complete with fold up beds. He had somehow found that a small space was created between the wall of the trailer and the bed's mattress when the bed was folded into its stowaway position. Anyway, he convinced me to get into the space and then he folded the bed up. It was then that I learned we weren't really playing hide and seek. He left me in the very tight space for a couple of hours as a joke. It was hot, I couldn't move, and I feared I was running out of air. You can imagine I wasn't amused and I never visited him again nor was he welcome at my house.

[Fizzlestix]

That's a horrible story, Vince! I can't even imagine that... I mean, my situation caused boredom and discomfort, with a mild phobic side effect.

Being intentionally locked in like that - that's just crazy. I know kids can sometimes do cruel things, but that's just outrageous.

Just curious, did your parents or his parents bring down a terror when they found out about it or was it something you silently assumed into your own character?

[vgarci]

Fizzlestix,
Sorry for whining but that's my story. The truth is I never said a word to anyone....just went home with a loss of trust and an unnatural fear that lasts to this day.

[brian1984_2001]

Vince,

Wow! That's a horrible thing! I'd have gone nuts.

My situation caused me some real anxiety, but nothing compared to what happened to you.

[Charlie]

I wouldn't want to be in either one of those situations. :doh:

Charlie