User blog comment:Helel ben Shahaar/Brush with Death/@comment-10502460-20180712232936

I'll try to remember this post next time I start feeling sorry for myself over how strenuous my job is. Reading this and the stories you have on this wiki have left me in awe of you family's experiences.

Cutting down trees for 12 hours straight under black-flag heat and STILL having to find some way to work with an injury at age 20 is something above and beyond what most Americans will ever experience. And to think, I almost asked to be sent home from work today because I was feeling somewhat achy and slightly feverish for a couple hours (TBF mine is a job where it could become a safety issue if people work while not up to optimal health, but that's the thing, it puts life into perspective to be reminded that there are places in the world where you don't get to go home just because you sprained your wrist, there's a job to be done and you're the only one around to do it and it has to be done now).

I specifically remember being struck with admiration in one of your stories where you casually mentioned that your grandmother was strong from a lifetime of wood chopping without power tools.