"His friends took the stairs instead of the window."

[randy_byers]

I've hesitated to post this, because it reflects poorly on a family member, but the line quoted in the Subject is so wonderfully dry I am compelled to share. The other way I talked myself into it is that this item appeared in a newspaper, so it's already a public story. Via my brother:

Oregon State Police

Friday, April 24

TAKE THE STAIRS: 12:40 a.m., Polling Hall. [My eldest nephew], 18, an OSU student, jumped from a third-story window and, after being cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol, was taken to the hospital for treatment of a possible broken ankle and elbow. Byers said he was trying to follow his friends, so he jumped out the window and landed on concrete. His friends took the stairs instead of the window. Byers blood-alcohol content registered as 0.156 percent.

My brother reports that he actually landed on dirt, not concrete. Still, he broke his fibula and tore ligaments in his elbow. There have already been serious repercussions even beyond the injuries, needless to say.

I know my brother is agonizing over this, but I know he also remembers doing similarly dumb stuff at the same age. Me too. I had to drop out for a year after my freshman year because I hadn't been mature enough to handle my introduction to the high life of the university. Maybe I'll remind my brother of that when I see him this weekend.

Still, kudos to whoever wrote that crime blotter snippet. Very droll.

Comments

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Back in college (sophomore year?) I was walking across campus with a friend and saw someone fall out of a ninth storey window. He landed on cement. The next day, the campus newspaper reported he had accidentally fallen. Given that the window he accidentally fell out of was a good four feet off the floor, and given the way he came out of the window, my friend and I don't think he accidentally fell.

Sorry your nephew tried to experiment with gravity.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Good thing my nephew didn't try it from the ninth floor! Did the guy survive the fall?

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

No. But he also didn't die immediately.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

That's certainly a sober reminder of how serious the consequences of such poor judgment can be. I'm hopeful that this will be a wake up call for my nephew. Nothing like broken bones and humiliation to focus the mind.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I never caused serious physical injury to myself or others, but I did some absolutely idiotic stuff that fortunately did not come to the attention of anyone but the people with me at the time. Also, I dropped out of college twice, although the second time was for less than a year -- and that one was because I had decided school was for fools. Then I came to the realization that I *was* a fool ...

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Yeah, I did more than a few idiotic things when young -- and got caught once, with some rather serious repercussions -- and in fact still do an occasional one, so all I can do is only be (mildly) sympathetic when I hear about something like this. Actually, I'm kinda glad your nephew was injured (& very glad it wasn't serious) -- and hope he's learned an important lesson -- even if it's only "no more than two stories". Your family seems to tend towards intelligence, but sometimes it skips a generation, so in his case I can only hope for the best.

But I disagree with your "realization" that you are/were a fool -- sometimes acting foolishly, probably, but that's by no means the same thing.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Yes, I hope this is a wake up call for my nephew. As for my own foolishness, I just meant that I realized (thanks to my sister, who finally gave me an earful) that I was a fool not to see that a college education would give me a significant advantage going forward in life.

[farmgirl1146.livejournal.com]

This may be a minor incident that may save his life and maybe more in the future. If this is the worst he does, I know a dozen parents who will trade theirs for him.

If he wants to continue jumping, perhaps he has a future in the Navy Seals. At least they will teach him how to jump out of the third story window more safely. :-)

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Ha! Good point, although I think my brother would agonize over that, too. The fate of all parents, I guess.