Have you or anyone you know had a near death experience?

[NCjack]

8. Stream fishing, alone.

I was wading and fly fishing in a stream I had not previously waded. The stream was about 20 feet wide and the depth about 2 feet. Surprise! I stepped off an underwater rock ledge, plunged into a hole about 8 feet deep and hit bottom standing upright. In a panic, I let go of my fly rod and tried to get out of my chest waders, but couldn't. Couldn't get out of them and couldn't swim with them on.

I knew that I would drown in that hole. Then, images flashed through my brain of my life beginning as a child and continuing to the point where I was in that hole, under water. At the end of the "slideshow" I asked myself "how did it happen that I made such a stupid mistake," and the answer came to me: "you walked into it." And, I quickly asked myself, how do I get out? And the answer came to me: "turn and walk to the stream bank." And I did.

There was a tree on the bank, I sat down, removed my waders, rested against the tree, and reviewed what had happened. A panic began to come over me, but I thought of my expensive fly rod on the bottom of the hole. A calm feeling displaced the panic, I removed my shirt and trousers, dived into the hole and rescued my fly rod.