how backpacking saved my life

“Cool I'll be watching. Thanks for the info.”

“Well I got a message on my machine which said it will air on Friday. The show is from 7 - 9AM on the east coast (CBS). The reporters involved were very good, very smart and very nice (both the "on camera" reporter, Tracy Smith and the Producer, Andy Merlis).”

“I'm off Fridays.....must remember to not sleep in.”

“TIVO will be set tonight! Thanks for mentionin it Ped.”

“Me too MarkO. I can't wait! Poor Abbydooddle'll have to go without her "Aurthur" Friday.

Ped, my Dad lost his childhood home and a little brother to a candle fire, it's really important that people know the risks, especially with the scented candle craze. Thanks for going public in such a big way.”

“Oi, scented candles make me weeze....

Cats too...”

“I'll set my VCR. Thanks for the heads up.”

“TIVO's set, lookin' forward to it.”

“Oops.

I'm trying to read old posts.
What happened to you? Did a candle catch your house on fire?
last edited: 12/09/04 9:22:00 AM”

“Yes, I believe it was about 11 months ago.”

“Pink: Yes, in February. I'd been up at 4AM on Saturday to go snowshoeing in the White Mountains. I had dinner in NH with the folks I snowshoed with and came back home - pretty much crashed right away.... then I woke up at 5:30AM to a fire. I ended up in the hospital for almost 3 months due to burns and smoke inhalation. I was lucky to be near one of the best burn units in the world.

If I ever had any doubts about how many fantastic people there are on TT, they are long gone now. The concern and support was amazing. There were times in the Rehab hospital that I really felt down (eating was a huge and anxious struggle, for example, and I didn't know if I'd be able to eat normal food again) and just looking through the cards from TT'ers and other backpackers really lifted me up.”

“4AM on the west coast, no TIVO, no VCR. I do have Fridays off. Maybe, possibly.

My dad was a fireman. When we lit candles at our house--and we rarely did, maybe just for Christmas, we stood and looked at the candles, then blew them out and walked away. Strange ambience.

A few years back, I was at a ski area with my sons and the power went out 'cause of a blizzard. We had planned to sleep in the van, but I relented and we got a room because the weather was so dismal. The motel, connected with the ski resort, had no electricity. They issued candles to patrons and lighted the narrow stairwell with candles in brown paper bags. After we trudged upstairs to our room, barely missing the candles with our bags and jackets, I told the boys we couldn't stay unless they had a first floor room. Even that seemed foolhardy, but their combined resentment all night in the van seemed worse. (Now I've admitted it on TT. Sometimes, I didn't set limits with my kids.)

A sideline. This thread introduced other 'Fridays off' folks, but all of you are too far away for day hikes with me. Darn!”

“Wow, Ped... glad to hear that things are better now.

Thinkbubelz' brother was burned a few years ago. He & his wife have been self-building a house... They had a lot of extra lumber and decided to get rid of it by burning it.

Foolishly, they doused the pile with gasoline and he lit a match... a huge fireball exploded and hit him. Luckily, he raised his hands over his face and didn't suffer internal burns (in his lungs) and his face was mostly spared. He was burned over 40% of his body-- Mostly 2nd and some 3rd degree, I think.

Had months of therapy... Luckily his wife wasn't standing next to him, or we might have had 2 funerals-- Their house is pretty far from the next one, and at the time, they didn't have any phones or electricity in the house yet, AND they did not carry cell phones... She had to run down about 1/4 mile or so to her neighbor's place....

Needless to say, he couldn't believe that he had been so foolish. (What was he thinking?!) Luckily, most of the burns have healed and since he was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt that day, the burns are on areas that are covered by clothing most of the year...

My other sister-in-law almost had a candle wreath catch on fire once-- it left a lot of smoke on her living room ceiling! Needless to say, she doesn't burn candles much any more-- UNLESS she is in the same room with them.”

“Two things really convinced me to do the show. (I had declined to be interviewed on camera once earlier). One was the fact that someone Ellen knows (the best friend of one of her dearest friends), who was an avid hiker and mountain climber, died in a candle fire in September (she lived on the third floor and a fire started on the first). The other was learning from the producer that the incidence of candle fires had doubled over 15 years.

They asked me if I thought there should be warning labels on candles, I said that there should be instructions about how to use them safely. On reflection, I think a responsible candle manufacturer would provide warnings and instructions.

I'm hoping to know what part of the show we will be on, two hours is a long time for people to watch for one news piece. I looked at the web site and the lead stories are listed as:

Friday, 12/10: Getting rid of debt | Latest Survivor: Vanuatu castoff”

“The producer (who seems like a great guy and a pro) tells me that the piece is scheduled for 7:30AM. With breaking news in the mix, I'm not sure how iron clad that is.”

“I have candles on all the time. Mistakes are made, mistakes that shouldn't be made, and trust me I made them.

It's a good thing that you did agree to this interview. Thanks!”

“Gemini - it's funny how minor mistakes can have huge results, and big ones can turn out entirely OK.”

“bump”

“i wish i could've worked at home today, i wanted to watch!!”

“I forgot to set our VCR to tape it last night. Oops. I'm a cad.”

“CRAP CRAP CRAP

I FORGOT :(

ok who taped it and will send me a copy of it?
i will replace the tape and the S&H.”

“I set tivo last night. I will sent it to Bit and Maple. Anyone else?”

“Thanks WK! Let me know where I may send remuneration.”

“Nice word!

Don't worry about it.”

“OK, cool, thanks...”

“I messed it up too! Last night when I got home I didn't check the thread and recorded ABC! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!!!”

“Hey y'all Creek Dancer points out that you can see it (text and video) at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/09/earlyshow/contributors/tracysmith/main660125.shtml”

“Excellent segment David! My wife burns candles in every room of the house. Before we leave, we check to see that they have been put out. A couple of times we have failed to do so and we come home to a still lit candle.”

“ped, I set my tivo for The Early Show, and I'm checking it out now, and it says that it's an hour long. With tivo, you can fastforward and see everything clearly as it passes by and I didn't see you.

I saw the survivor, a sement on rental
movies, picking Christmas trees, a guy who wrote a book, Angela Houston, then the end.”

“I taped the wrong channel, but thanks to that link, I was able to watch it.
David - That was a great piece, and I got chills watching you in the house describing what happened.

I also must say: YOU LOOKED GREAT! :o)”

“And you couldn't slip an itty bitty "the backpacker.com" ??? J/K
I will watch the video when I get home.”

“Thanks Pennsy and WK.

Lips: It was two hours... I was just a little over one half hour into it. Or maybe your affiliate only showed the second hour? Anyhow, the link gives the whole piece.”