Guest Blog Frankie Kington
Have you ever felt like a cat with nine lives? You are thinking, what does Frankie mean by this? Well then, have there been events in your life where you have thought to yourself, “My oh my, that was a close shave." Maybe these incidents were a matter of life and death experiences.
The first one was in 1979. I was playing out in Ardwick Green at the back of my flat. Did you know I stood on the copper Bar inside a Concrete Slab, and to my surprise, I slipped off this bar, and it banged me straight in the face? My face was throbbing. It swelled up because of the force of this bar hitting my face. It could have done a lot more damage.
The Second Incident happened in 1981, I was playing in Secondary School, and I was playing a game in the playground. As I jumped over a wall to grab my friend, I slipped and banged my leg and shinbone. My friends carried me into the Headteacher's room, where I waited, blood gushing out of my shinbone. The scene was horrific. I was lucky I didn't do more damage to my leg. I was taken to the hospital and ended up having several stitches.
The Third Incident occurred in 1982; I used to swim in a park near my house in Gorton called Debdale Park. My friends and I decided to go for a swim on the yacht in the middle of the reservoir. Halfway there, I lost my breath and started panicking. My friends tried to calm me down, but I struggled for breath and thrashed around in the water. Fortunately, the speedboat driver saw me panicking, my friends were trying to calm me down, but I was panicking. He pulled me out of the water and took me back to the shore.
The Fourth Incident was in 1984, I used to hang out in Stockport with my friends, and we got friendly with a couple of guys we used to drink with. We ended up meeting some girls in Stockport. To our surprise, we weren't liked by a group of lads down there, so one night, they decided to jump our friends and me in Stockport town center.
One of my friends was punched in the face by a guy who had knuckle dusters on his hand. This marked my friend's face badly and left blood gushing from his head. By this time, the fight had spilled out onto the road, and luckily for me, I managed to dodge a bus that was moving in my direction by pulling my head back and throwing my body down onto the pavement. That was a close encounter; I said to myself as my back slammed onto the concrete.
The Fifth Incident 1985. I got in a fight with a guy, I punched him, and he went straight through a shop window. I was lucky to get away because this wasn't meant to happen—it was an accident. I was just being racially abused, and I reacted.
The Sixth Incident also happened in 1985. A friend of mine was sniffing glue one night on Gorton market, near where I lived.so I went for a few hours and decided not to do that again. It wasn't a nice experience at all. Gas, I found, was more controllable. It gave me a funny buzzing sensation, but this addiction didn't last long, either. I knew it wasn't good for me at all. It made me dizzy, dazed, and confused. Both these incidents could have resulted in more dangerous consequences.
The Seventh Incident was three years later, in 1988, when I became addicted to Speed (Amphetamines). I was injecting drugs into my arms - this is a very dangerous way to abuse drugs; using dirty needles can cause septicemia, known as blood poisoning.
You never know what is in the powder: it could be rat poisoning, washing up liquid, or flour, but remember, some drug dealers may want your money, so you have to trust it is the drug you ordered. If not, it could cause an overdose or even death. I was very fortunate that this didn't happen to me.
The Eighth Incident occurred in 1992, near where I lived in Clayton. I was sitting in my mate's car when a man smashed the car window with a stick. The glass shattered in my face, but, luckily for me, no serious harm was done: no shards were stuck in my skin, and I had no gashes on my face or neck. I was a little shaken up, but this incident could have been a lot more dangerous.
The Ninth Incident happened in 1996; I took crack cocaine, a dangerous and Psychologically addictive drug.
I remembered all these incidents very clearly because any of these events certainly could have killed me or had big effects on my life. I am sure I could have touched on some more events in my life where I had a narrow escape. Even in my School years of being bullied and getting into fights, I always came out unscathed and victorious. Through all these incidents, I always felt like there was something telling me about my life.
I felt I had a reason to be here, rather than just getting high on drink and drugs and blaming the world for my problems. I needed to avoid feeling like the victim and take full responsibility for my life.
Now I share with youth what happens when you go down this path. I share with you what happens when you lose your identity. I teach youth how to find themselves again and create the life they can have and the love they can have for themselves and the world at large.
My book, Flying Inside Reaching New Heights, helps me share my nine-lives story to help you find your identity so that you can reach new heights.
I’ll share more on the Beacon of Light Podcast with April Giauque on Tuesday, March 7th at 6:30 pm MST.