Farmer Boo - The Life Saver

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I started mine out by celebrating Farmer Boo's 21st birthday. Farmer Boo wanted to go to the casino - not to gamble but to flash his new "I'm 21 ID." We took him and a few of his friends to eat dinner at Paula Deen's and I admit I'm not a fan. The food wasn't great and for the price it should have been. You get lots of choices and I'll give it an "A" but I give it a "D" for flavor. The best part of the birthday dinner was visiting with Papaw, Granny Debs, Shirley Q, Uncle D, Aunt T, Lou Lou, and of course, Farmer Boo, B, and Spranger. It would have been perfect if Baby Chef, Army Guy, EG's Daddy, EG's Mommie, and EG could have been there.

I mentioned in my last post a few things about Farmer Boo and thought I would elaborate on what happened to us on a Saturday night in September 1997.

Farmer Boo just turned 7. He was a precious and very precocious little boy with huge blue eyes and long eyelashes. It was really hard to get upset with him - even when he needed to be disciplined, because he would look up at you with those eyes and your heart would melt. You have it right  - I have a little charmer on my hands. He was also scary....you never knew what was going to come out of his mouth. His commentary on whatever subject came to mind could range from hilarious to crawl-in-a-hole embarrassing.

Farmer Boo and his John Deere cake

B, Farmer Boo, Lou Lou, Spranger

Now for the story...which is a true account of events that happened. Names have been withheld to protect the innocent...In the late afternoon, the exact date in September I can't remember, my family and I went to some friends' house to celebrate their son's 18th birthday. The kids were playing outside when Farmer Boo began to have an asthma attack. Of course, it's the one time I don't have an inhaler or a breathing machine with me, which is strange, because Farmer Boo has severe asthma, and we didn't go any where without one or both of those items. Farmer Boo and I left the party and head for home. We take the "back way" home which is down a gravel road. It had rained pretty heavily a few days before which made the gravel soft. I was going about 35 (the speed limit), when I noticed another car coming towards us and I moved over to make room for us to pass each other.  The next thing I knew the vehicle I was driving was spinning around facing the direction we just came from. Everything happened so fast...before I realized it, the truck had flipped over on its side (my side) and I was under water.  I reached for my seat belt but couldn't get it unfastened. My heart began to pound and all I could think about was I had to get out so I could get to Farmer Boo. I tried and tried but I couldn't get the seat belt to unfasten. I couldn't breath and I began to see a white haze. I didn't panic but I knew that it was probably the end until I felt a little hand grabbing my arm and tugging at the seat belt. I could hear a voice but I couldn't understand what it was saying. The next thing I knew I was being pulled to the surface and I could finally understand the voice I was hearing. It was Farmer Boo. A little boy of barely 7, had unfastened my seat belt and pulled me out of the water. I was a little confused at first. I didn't think I would ever stop coughing. There he was with those eyes looking at me and asking me if I was ok and telling me we had to get out of here FAST 'cause there's snakes everywhere! Somehow we got out of the truck. I did a quick assessment to make sure Farmer Boo was ok. Much to my surprise, he didn't have a scratch on him and his asthma attack was over. Unfortunately, I had a broken finger and occipital (the bones around your  eye), and about a hundred cuts all over my face and arms because of broken glass. Farmer Boo and I were about a half of a mile from home, which seemed like 10 miles because we were soaking wet and it was almost dark.

We began to walk when a car stopped. It was an older couple and though I would NEVER take a ride from a stranger under normal circumstances...this was not a normal circumstance. They were the sweetest people and they took us right to our house. It was then we realized we had another problem....no keys. Farmer Boo to the rescue again. He somehow was able to get into a window and unlock the door. Farmer Boo's daddy made it home not long after that and took both of us to the hospital.

I remember the night Farmer Boo saved my life as if it happened yesterday. Neither of us talk about it very often. It still amazes me how God protected him and kept him calm. He never shed a tear. I recall thanking  Farmer Boo the next day and telling him how proud I was that he was a quick thinker. He responded with "Mom, I already know I'm smart you don't have to tell me and if I were driving it never would have happened!"