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Back in 1987 I got a very nasty burn on the back of my hand.
I was working at the iron foundry; a job I hated.
I had been hired as an engineer. Instead I was working as a floor manager to a bunch of prison convicts on a work release program.
My exact duties changed on a weekly basis based on the whim of the owner. That winter I was overseeing the iron pouring operation. We used hand ladles that held 50 pounds of iron at a time to be poured into the molds.
Molten iron has a high surface tension. So, if any splashes on you it will bounce off of your skin. The less clothes you wear, the better you are, because it can stick to the clothing and hold the drops of very hot liquid against your skin.
One day the owner came through and shouted at me to wear my gloves. I tried to explain that I was better off not wearing them, but he was insistent and told me to put them on or I’d be fired.
On the next pour, a drop of molten iron splashed up and fell into my glove. It came to rest in the center of my left hand where it burned a round crater into my skin before I could put down the ladle full of iron and get the glove off.
It left a ¼” round third degree burn on the back of my hand.
Over the years, the scar from that has faded enough that I often can’t even find it on my hand.*
But, for some reason, the light in my new office seems to bring it out quite well.
It is very strange to me to be able to see it so clearly again after all these years of fading.
* One of the symptoms of my dyslexia is an inability to remember things like what hand my scar is on. I don’t have any problem remembering which is my left or right hand. But, I can’t remember where things are located.
I have the same problem with the scar over my eye. When looking in a mirror, I can easily tell which side it is on. But, I can’t remember.
My wife has a scar on her hand as well. I’ve seen it thousands of times over the last 27 years. Right now, I couldn’t tell you which hand has it.
You bear the mark of the chosen one!
Date: 2010-04-24 01:41 am (UTC):-)
Re: You bear the mark of the chosen one!
Date: 2010-04-24 02:03 am (UTC)