[AZ-Observing] Re: Summer Astronomy Dangers
- From: "Rick Tejera" <saguaroastro@xxxxxxx>
- To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 21:23:43 -0700
JD,
Glad to hear you only got scared out of your wits. Could've been worse. Hope
the jumping around didn't set your back back on it's road to recovery.
For the record grabbed a $2.00 Snakebite kit at Mall Wart this evening while
doing some other shopping.
See you all at 5MM
Rick Tejera
Editor SACnews
Saguaro Astronomy Club
Phoenix, Arizona
saguaroastro@xxxxxxx
www.saguaroastro.org
-----Original Message-----
From: az-observing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:az-observing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of J. D MADDY
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 3:54 PM
To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Summer Astronomy Dangers
This has been what I would call a crappy week. And, this is why. Monday, I
sneezed and threw my back out. I have never had any back problems, but I now
sympathize with those that have back problems. I have been hobbling around
all week. It hurts to sit down. It hurts to stand up. It's been miserable.
Towards the end of the week, I was starting to have more mobility and less
pain. That's a good thing. What's this have to do with astronomy? Well, it's
tough to lift scopes with a messed up back. And, you have to sit or stand to
view. Which all give pain. But, the best is yet to come. A couple of months
ago, I scheduled to have our local club conduct a star party for the
Cottonwood Elementary Astronomy Club sleepover. They have 24 members, third,
fourth and fifth graders. They also have an inflatable dome planetarium.
This was the same night as the SAC meeting, or Friday. I enjoy doing these
and decided to skip the meeting and go to the sleepover. Because of my back
plight, I decided to prepare everything for loading and wait until my wife
came home from work to help load up the van. At precisely 5:12PM I went out
to the observatory to begin this process. The observatory is about six steps
off of our driveway. On the next to last step, while fumbling for the
observatory door keys, I stepped on to what was to be a very mad Diamond
Back Rattle Snake. I heard immediately the rattle, hiss and felt something
hit the back of my leg. Having back problems lead to tingling legs so, I
didn't feel any sticks or pricks. I did a Sakow onto the observatory apron
and stood looking at the critter as he came at me a second time. I jumped
upon a table we use for astronomy books and realized that it wasn't tall
enough. I then jumped onto a steel patio chair that was next to it. I felt
safe there for a moment. As the snake came to the apron of the observatory,
he curled up hissing, spitting and rattling in front of the door. I started
checking my leg for puncture marks, blood, or any other fluid that might
cause a problem. I had a couple of scrapes, but could not determine if they
were fresh or not. I called my neighbor from my cell phone, but he was not
home. Another call to another neighbor resulted in the same. The wife was on
her way home, but was in the "no Cell zone" between Cottonwood and Sedona. I
had rehearsed in my mind what I would do if I was ever bitten by a rattler,
and was about to start phase one of the process. I leaped off of the chair
and scrambled to a position about 10 feet from the rattler. Who was still
fighting mad, hissing, rattling and striking. At least he was content with
his position and did not try to move to me again. I heard a noise behind me
and saw my neighbor driving up the dirt road. I started waving my arms madly
and he backed up and drove up the driveway. As soon as he exited the
vehicle, about 75 feet from the observatory, he heard all the commotion. He
and his wife checked me over for damage and could not find any punctures or
wounds. Was I lucky or what! I guess I had stepped on the critter close
enough to his head that he could not turn and have a square strike at my
leg. His head flinging around is what I felt hit the back of my leg. My
heart was pumping so much adrenalin, I wouldn't have felt any thing anyway.
I don't know if there is a moral to this story or not, but, what if this had
happened at Two Trees, or, Cherry, or Flat Iron. And, what if the strike was
precise. This could have easily been a life threatening event. Not to
mention a costly one. A friend was hiking in Sedona two years ago and bitten
by a rattler. She went through many treatments to the tune of over $40K.
That's right, $40K. I guess anti venom is pricey. And she's still having
medical problems from the bite. And Mr. DB Rattler? Well, he decided to
attempt to be a guard snake at the door and not slither off on his way. Does
anyone need a hide for a belt? So, here's a couple of things to do when
desert scoping: (As if anyone doesn't do this already)
1. Carry a snake bite kit. Or, at least some kind of first aid kit.
2. Never scope alone. Make sure someone knows where you are.
3. Have a cell phone handy.
4. Know where the nearest medical treatment can be had.
5. And, have your wife load up the van. (Just kidding)
All this could have been prevented if I had went to the SAC meeting. Or, at
least looked where I was walking. The sleepover star party, or, planet party
as it turned out, was a success. Over thirty kids and adults were there and
we did have some nice views of Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and the Moon. M13 was
able to be seen for the deep sky object of the night.
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