Now, instead of hiring an expensive mechanical lift, he decided that he would place a simple ladder on the steep, slippery slope that was the lower roof.

This went surprisingly well, until he was hammering the last nail into the final plank of the day. As the hammer fell, he heard a crash from below, and felt gravity work. As he fell down the ladder, he received numerous bruises to his hands and forearms, trying to find something to hold on to. Alas, he found nothing, and fell 10 feet down to the roof, spraining an ankle.

His ordeal was not over, however, as he now began to slide down the aforementioned slippery roof. His mind racing, he again tried to hold on to something. Failing to do so, he figured he was going to stick his knees into the gutter lining the roof. Sadly, he was too late for this, already careening off the edge, falling down the final 12 feet towards the ground. Or rather, he fell 10 feet towards a pile of all the discarded planks, two inch nails sticking out towards him. He had just enough time to contemplate this, before miraculously landing on the one square yard of nail-free space, cracking a rib in the process.

Figuring it was over, my father relaxed for a second, just as the ladder he had been standing on 10 seconds prior, promptly landed on him.

Alerted by the the various crashes, nearby people, including myself, rushed to the scene, finding him cradling his hurting limbs, insisting on NOT going to the emergency room. Despite this, he healed up fine, and is still tinkering on the house most evenings.

Submitted on 05/02/2011

Submitted by: Magnus Jakobsen
Reference:

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Thanks for a very humorous story, Magnus. I hope your dad learned from his misfortune!

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Yowch! Thanks, Magnus!

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