TEEN INJURIES

READY. FIRE. AIM?

Rarely has aiming first been so important as it was recently in South Carolina, where the most bizarre thing happened.

It started like a lot of stories do that have tragic endings. There were a bunch of friends hanging out in the garage. Apparently, they had time on their hands and energy to spare.

When they ran out of fun things to try, someone donned a bulletproof vest and great joy was found in shooting the wearer. Turns were taken. Raucous laughter, no doubt, ensued.

But, one friend was not quite as accurate as the others. The .22 long rifle bullet, missed the Kevlar protection of the vest, and buried into the young man’s chest. Despite CPR, the victim, in his mid-20s, bled to death.

Now the friend, is looking at five years in prison, charged with involuntary manslaughter for the errant shooting.

Recently, a young honors student tried her own unauthorized science experiment at school.  She combined common chemicals in a water bottle to see what would happen. The ensuing smoking chemical reaction got her expelled and charged with a crime as an adult. Seems a bit harsh for teen actions.

But, we all did stupid things when we were young, right?

Many jumped off the roof with an umbrella, only to find one does not, in fact, float down gently.

Some farm boys urinated on the electric fence, you know, just to “see what happens.”  Few did that twice.

Many young men built elaborate bike ramps and tried to jump like Evel Kenievel, with similar results to his.

Teens seem attracted to stealing traffic signs. Of course, a missing stop sign can have fatal consequences.

Kids and fireworks often combine to destroy mailboxes, fingers and set fields afire.

“Mailbox baseball,” where country kids hit mailboxes with baseball bats from a moving vehicle, is still all too common.

There are many paralyzed adults who would warn teens not to dive into a dark lake or river without knowing its depth.

But, I would say shooting each other--on purpose--takes the cake.