I heard the funniest thing today...

[kirksmithicus]

A 13 year old girl from Maine was on NPR talking about falling asleep on the railroad tracks and then getting hit by a train. As a result of the accident she had to have her leg amputated. When she was asked to describe the experience of getting hit by the train she said, and I quote, "It hurt, wicked bad". I laughed my ass off. She later stated, that it took a few months before she came to the realization that her leg would not grow back. At this point I had to pull the car over and stop.



...I know, it's supposed to be wrong to laugh at the suffering and misery of others.

[ChaunceyK]

I wouldn't call this "laughing at the suffering and misery of others" as much as "laughing at the stupidity of others."

At 13yo, I knew damn well not to take a nap on freakin' RAILROAD TRACKS!!

[Rochin]

It is sad how clueless our youth is becoming. I agree when I was 13, damn almost 20 years ago lol, I knew way better than to sleep on train tracks or other dangerous places. Sad thing is her stupidity will be passed on to her kids, unless she marries a very smart man. I know somewhere it said something to the effect that stupid people will always out number the smart, because the smart are more selective with who they mate with. So true.

Kind of funny story, I would have laughed too. Legs do not grow back!!! Damn lol.

[Etarnon]

I don't think this is funny at all.

Let's hear the laughter when your own legs get cut off, or go to a VA hospital and laugh at the guys with no legs or arms or sight there.

Interesting to hear the responses from those guys when you laugh in their face.

[Grumpy Old Man]

I am a vet and I know a lot of people who lost limbs through accident in civilian life or duty putting them in the wrong place at the wrong time. For most of the amputee's I know laughing is a defensive strategy and helps keep them grounded in reality.

This kid fell asleep on the tracks, you have any idea how uncomfortable that would have had to been. Sorry but I'm thinking drugs or alcohol here and what kind of support does he have from his family that he found himself in that situation. Whole thing sounds hinky.

[Rochin]

It is a sad thing to happen to a person, but my inital reaction would have been what I said above. Dealing with children of all ages, it is sad to see how little they actually know about anything. I am also in agreement that the parents lack of involvement helped that event take place. Parents today(at least in the school district where I live) do not take any part in their childs education, and if they do, it is usually negative. When I was growing up, my parents were always checking on how I was doing, if i needed any help etc. A few of the 5th graders at the school go home each night to an empty house(sometimes without any utilties on) and get to play grown up taking care of themselves and younger siblings, while the parent(usually not parents in many cases here) are either at work, getting high, or off not caring about their kids. It is sad.

[Moritz]

Where is the Darwin Award committee when you need?

This will make a great story for my biology class. We were just discussing evolution and how humanity is out of the natural selection loop.

[ronpyatt]

Dealing with children on a regular basis, it's interesting to see how much some know and how much they don't. Since their brains are still developing and the speed of development varies with each child, reality seeps into their awareness from different angles. It is no surprise that something like this happens. In fact, I am a little surprised this doesn't happen more often. Some brilliant children out there do the stupidest things.

It's easy to place the blame when we don't know the entire situation, the child's mental health, education, and other aspects we place on to this character's development. Perhaps the child was given something and was placed on the tracks deliberately by parents, friends, and bullies. Maybe they heard voices. Maybe the tracks were thought by this kid to no longer be in use, or it was only for a brief rest without the intent of actually falling asleep.

If the kid's accident had been the origin of a superhero character would we find it as funny or horrifying?

[MortonStromgal]

Dealing with children on a regular basis, it's interesting to see how much some know and how much they don't. Since their brains are still developing and the speed of development varies with each child, reality seeps into their awareness from different angles. It is no surprise that something like this happens. In fact, I am a little surprised this doesn't happen more often. Some brilliant children out there do the stupidest things.

It's easy to place the blame when we don't know the entire situation, the child's mental health, education, and other aspects we place on to this character's development. Perhaps the child was given something and was placed on the tracks deliberately by parents, friends, and bullies. Maybe they heard voices. Maybe the tracks were thought by this kid to no longer be in use, or it was only for a brief rest without the intent of actually falling asleep.

If the kid's accident had been the origin of a superhero character would we find it as funny or horrifying?

Well where I live every 3-4 years some kid plays chicken with the train and looses, then the parents have a lawsuit against the train for not stopping. Common parents you should be teaching your kids me vs train you always loose.

[Moritz]

Additionally, no drugs or alcohol were involved. Just poor judgement:

http://wbztv.com/local/maine.train.crash.2.734918.html

http://www.wmur.com/news/16413056/detail.html

[InvestFDC]

This is the state of education in America. We double the education budget every3-5 years and kids are getting dumber. I hate to say it but I'm not surprised that a kid living in the liberal bastion of the North East would expect her leg to grow back. Let alone sleep on the tracks. France, here we come!!!

[GoddessGood]

Double the education budget every 3-5 years? I want to know where you went to school. Where I am, they're cutting the budgets, increasing class sizes, using ancient books and farming out the school lunches to the fast food industry for a little extra cash. All of that was going on even before the current economic crisis ... I wonder where you got your numbers from?

[Moritz]

What does being liberal have to do with education?

[Rochin]

Double the education budget every 3-5 years? I want to know where you went to school. Where I am, they're cutting the budgets, increasing class sizes, using ancient books and farming out the school lunches to the fast food industry for a little extra cash. All of that was going on even before the current economic crisis ... I wonder where you got your numbers from?

Well said, well said indeed. My wife works for a school district and they are in the process of getting rid of non useful personel. So if you are a teacher with a small class size, you will be cut and your kids added to another. Math, Science and English specialists are going to be cut as they are not full in room teachers. According to the state laws 22 kids is the max my wife can have in 4th grade, yet she has 25. The district knows of the violation and ignores it. As far as the budget getting increased, that is total lies, at least here in Texas. Teacher pay has went up a total of 2% in the last 5 years. To add me on to our insurance is an extra 467 dollars each month in addition to the 256 we already have taken out for my wife and 2 kids. That is in addition to the 4500 a year that the school district pays towards her insruance.

Summer schools are being cut, same with after school tutoring. So if a teacher gets bad scores on the TAKs test(a test students must pass to move on to another grade) they will be fired, and blamed for the low scores. If where you are eduction gets doubled every few years, that is great. In my wifes district 4 out of 5 kids is on free lunch, has only 1 parent and lives in the below poverty level, less than 19k a year for a full family. Seeing how the community has no money, there is no way to increase the schools budget. Our Govenor here is a joke, and keeps taking pay increases away from vital areas.

Sorry for the rant, I am very passionate on the whole issue of education taking a back seat and then congress and the big wigs *****ing because students do not excel. My wife and I had to purchase and get computers donated so the kids in her class would have them. Everything besides a teacher desk and student desks is also paid for by us, with tiny if any reinbursement. Ooops sorry, ill stop. Must... rant... oh look a can of Mt Dew.....

[mrken]

You guys have books??? My kid's schools have one set of books and share them with all classes. Have never seen a book come home, ever. How on earth do they expect them to read or study at home???