College graduate on thin ice 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
y father was a graduate of the University of Missouri and majored in Animal Husbandry and Microbiology.
One very cold winter in 1958, my father went out to our farm to make sure his livestock could get to drinking water. Apparently the water line from the pond was frozen so my father thawed it with a torch and the water flowed. Noticing the water wasn't flowing fast enough and afraid it would refreeze he determined that the valve must be opened further.
Unfortunately, the valve was under the water, near the dam and under the ice of the pond. Being proud of his engineering prowess with the torch, and realizing that the ice was too thin to walk on, he decided to place a couple of 1X12 boards on the ice making a path to support his weight while he chipped through the ice.
Imagine his happiness and pride when his system worked! He was able to reach the valve and open it!
But while he was working on the ice, water had seeped under one board freezing it to the surface. He realized that to return to the bank of the pond he would need to remove it and carry it past the other to make it back safely.
He was unable to lift it while standing on it so he stepped to the side on the ice, slid his fingers underneath and as he lifted heard the ice crack beneath his feet as he pulled himself down through the ice!
"I realized what I had done when I heard the hollow crack echo across the frozen pond.”
It took 15 minutes to chip his way to where he could stand and pull himself out. He credits his 1950 Chevrolet Pick up for saving his life. He just had the heater repaired after three years of it not working.
Confirmed by my Mother who helped him out of his frozen genes when he got home.
Submitted on 07/15/2002
Submitted by:
Anonymous
Reference:
y father, 1958
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