Larry is as macho as the next guy. Played all the sports, had a couple of rousing fist fights in his youth, and hunts and fishes on the weekends.
So, when Mr. Macho was rudely cut off on the interstate by Mr. Inconsiderate, Larry flashed an obvious signal of disapproval. A mile or so later, he and Mr. I. sat side by side at a stop light.
Larry glanced over and saw that he was staring into...
Home heating equipment that provides warmth and comfort on a cool day also brings deadly risks if used incorrectly.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, fires associated with home heating equipment result in about 45,000 fires and over 200 fatalities across America every year.
Here are a few tips to keep your house cozy and safe.
Start With The Basics
* Have your...
Gary knew a thing or two about ladders and chainsaws. He saw no reason why that troublesome branch, a mere twelve feet off the ground, couldn\'t be removed easily enough with a few quick cuts.
He propped his ladder against the tree, clambered to the limb, and revved up the chainsaw.
What Gary didn\'t know was that when he cut the branch, it would snap back violently and knock him off the...
As a graphic artist, Tony knew a lot about perspective. So, he was pretty sure there was nothing to fear by climbing the twenty feet to the roof of his house.
It was funny how that twenty feet suddenly looked like a hundred feet when Tony was standing on the roof looking down. He froze at the thought of climbing back onto the ladder and nearly panicked.
Firemen lifting terrified cats...
Tommy now had the coolest bike on the block. It was sleek, shiny black, and made for speed. The bike came with a new helmet, but how cool was that? Girls were not impressed by helmets.
He was a dashing figure until he hit the manhole cover and flew face first into the street, knocking out his two front teeth and causing a concussion that sent him to the hospital for two days.
Today his...
Communing with nature is no walk in the park. Consider Laura. She and a friend set out for an afternoon excursion around the local reservoir. Estimated time: four hours of hiking.
In that four hours, she developed three blisters, scraped her knee, caught a bad case of poison ivy, twisted her ankle, got doused in a rain storm, and had a lovely hairdo ruined. Laura\'s new idea for a jaunty...
Liz and seventeen-month-old Cade had a wonderful day at the zoo. When they returned to the car, Liz strapped the toddler into the child safety seat, which unfortunately also held some food crumbs.
As Liz drove away, Cade began screaming uncontrollably. Liz tried to calm him, but nothing would work, so she wisely headed directly to the doctor's office.
It didn't take the doctor long to...
For years, Gail kept her favorite captain's chair with its comfortable seat cushion beside her kitchen pantry. Not only was it an attractive piece of furniture, it was also perfect to stand on for reaching objects stored high in the pantry.
On a stylistic whim, she replaced the flat cushion with a thicker version. The next time she climbed onto the chair, the surprising thickness of the new...
Ann was tired of those hot rubber gloves. She had been using a solvent to remove the stain from the wooden stairs leading to the upstairs bedroom for four hours now, and her patience had worn thin. She had made good progress on the wood, and felt she deserved a break.
Ann got a cold soda, removed the gloves and returned to work. Half an hour later, her hands were beginning to blister and...
Swimming is great exercise and wonderful entertainment for children. Nevertheless, drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death in children.
Each year, about 1,000 children drown and another 4,000 are hospitalized for near-drowning, usually in a pool owned by their family. Over 60 percent of children who drown in pools are under age four.
These tragedies do not have to...
