Cause and Effect

Alright folks, I'll try not to be too gory in my description of how my finger achieved that horrific state so vividly displayed in those photographs.

One bright day, in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up.....WAIT A SECOND!!!

Sorry.

Wrong story.

*Cough*

[Imagine a deep, gravelly voice narrating]

Latitude: 49° 58' 0N Longitude: 6° 31' 60E Elevation: 328 meters
Monday. October 23, 2006. 0900 hours. I'd received my assignment without saying a word. I was getting 65 percent payment up-front. I decided an axe would be my tool of choice for this particular job. Being an independent operative with quite a bit of experience, I had the option to use whatever methods I thought "appropriate". Having a record of 100% termination tends to convince whoever's my employer that they should give me leeway in terms of Modus Operandi.
Well, my personal S.O.P. states that there's no excuse for leaving witnesses. But I guess that morning I didn't eat my Wheaties. Or maybe I got up on the wrong side of the bed. Do you see where this is going?.....

Maybe I should dispense with the morbid fiction-story-telling and get to the point of the matter.

It really was Monday, 23 OCT 2006. It really was 0900 hours. And the axe was intended as a prop, nothing more. I was a member of OPFOR (opposing forces) for my squadron's Combat Readiness Course, or: mobility school. The first scenario of the week-long exercise called for about five farmers to occupy the CRC students' campsite. Soon, I decided to use my axe to cut some kindling for a "simulated" campfire. I'd cut a couple of pieces already when the next stroke got too close to my left index finger and cut the tip almost all the way off. I immediately put my thumb on the wound to slow the already minimal bleeding. (actually I think I only lost a tablespoon or so) Unfortunately, I had to withdraw from the scenario. So I walked back to our OPFOR camp and they drove me to the Bitburg emergency room. They took a look at it and we pondered together whether to sew it up or just cut the flap off. Because it would fall off anyway(and has). Anyway, they went and gave me my first six stitches. And this past Thursday was the ten day mark, so I went ahead and took the stitches out. Yesterday, Saturday, the little cap of skin kind of caught on my jacket as I was putting it on. So now, the tip of my finger is somewhat bare. Here's some pictures.





Well, that's pretty much it. Many thanks to Mike McQ. for taking the photos of my finger.