sheltie dave Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Wednesday I went to Kansas City to pick up the 1963 Khorn singlet. The owners were retired and in their late 80s, and their daughter had contacted Steve with Klipsch as to the best way to sell their loved(and lovely) speaker, owned since new. Steve suggested putting it in two channel on the forum, where it caught my wife's eye. At the initial price, I had little interest, and then we got a confusing e-mail from a guy in KC that he was not going to complete the sale. It seemed like a dead deal - the speaker was no longer for sale. The next day we received a call from the daughter, with the Khorn still for sale, a new lower price, and were we still interested? Keeping in mind that my wife wanted this because Liam can now manipulate all the TV functions on our main TV atop Lucy(Shorty,) and she loved the gorgeous light walnut face, I said yes, and made plans to pick it up this past Tuesday. I got an e-mail from the daughter Monday that her dad had an appointment rescheduled for Tuesday, and a request to move the pickup day to Wednesday, to which I concurred. I talked to Colleen about leaving at 5am to avoid rush hour traffic, only to get shot down because she wanted me taking her sister to her normal day program. Still, I got everything prepped to go, taking the rear seat squabs out of the Volvo, getting blankests, cardboard boxes, the cashier's check, and shrinkwrap from U_Haul. Wednesday dawned gray and with intermittent showers. I dropped my sister-in-law off at her program, and fled St. Louis at 9:30, well behind my desired leaving time, but knowing I would be back in bed at home by 10 pm. The drive on I70 through the heart of Missouri was pleasant, and I broke for gas and a lunch pickup at McDs just before noon. There were two of us that were making real good time in the fast lane, with the other driver a Marine who had just returned from Iraq, on leave with his new wife from outstate Missouri. We had gassed up together, and they were real nice folks. Little did I know how important our brief get together would be in a few minutes. We were on the road for ten minutes, when the flashing cherries lit up behind us. State Police, 75 mph, busted We pulled off in a construction zone, the trooper came up and pulled our driver's licenses, wrote down our plate, info, and asked us to step up to his car. As he started to tell us he would only give out warnings due to Dan being a returning vet(yes!,) a call came through the radio for all emergency personnel to immediately respond to a multicar wreck, with injuries and fire, a mile ahead of us on I70. The trooper had noticed the large fire extinguishers and turnout gear I had in the back, knew we were both on fire teams, so he asked us to follow him. The accident had totally shut down the divided oncoming lanes, so we hopped over behind the trooper, and hit well over 85 en route. When we got there, there were two trooper cars, and about twenty people fighting a car fire on a sedan turned turtle off the highway in the grass. I threw on my turnout gear, Dan grabbed the extinguishers with his wife, and we took off to the worse looking car on fire. The doors were all jammed shut, with an infant in the rear, and the parents non responsive in front. A few people finished knocking out the rear glass, and I snaked in, slashed the seatbelt, and another set of hands grabbed the carseat and we were out. I dropped the turnout gear, the troopers evacuated everyone other than the firefighters showing up, and emergency respone people flocked in from everywhere. Both sides of the highway were shut down for close to an hour, but a lucky few(us included) had come up the wrong way, so the police directed us onto the other side at the scene, and I was again on my way. The rest of the trip passed without incident. I made it into the KC municipality about an hour late, met with Fred and Marjorie, had a wonderful conversation, and packed up the Khorn for the trip home. Fred is a retired Methodist minister, and talking with him helped calm me down. The Khorn is a K-C-WR, priced at $676 in 1963, and is in gorgeous shape, with cane cloth grilles. It is serial # 1B953, and has a k33, k55v # 3315, and a k77 # 2274. The mystery is the crossover is Type "1", not an A like I was expecting. I'll include photos of the beauty, along with two letters and the scheduled price list for 1963, later on in the weekend. When I finally made it home, Colleen was waiting up, and Liam was gently snoring in his bed, tucked in soundly. The little boy we cut out of the car is one year old, and I read in the Columbia paper last night that his parents did not make it. One other person was critically injured, and multiple other people were hospitalized. I could have not written about the accident, but the little one is so close in age to our Liam that it has constantly been on my mind the last few days. I am taking solace in that we were successful in getting him out, and knowing there were countless people at the scene trying to put out a gas fire, in some cases, with dirt they were digging up with their bare hands. The lives God has given us are precious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 ---------------- On 5/14/2004 2:31:28 PM sheltie dave wrote: .... The lives God has given us are precious. ---------------- They truly are indeed. It is a good thing you were able to at least save the little boy. I know it is hard to loose even one person at a rescue but you did get to SAVE one! We came close to loosing my son about 3 weeks ago. A bad car accident in the rain. He shouldn't have lived but came out with only a few slight scratches on the left hand. I thank God every day for giving us more time with him. Someone will also be thanking you in prayer for giving them more time with that little boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Dave, the world needs more good folk like you. Nice job, very commendable, and nice score on the horn, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Dave, what a great story, tragic as it is. Serendipity was on your side, as well as that little boy. I am SO SORRY that his parents didn't make it, but thank God (he was helping here, I'm sure) you all were there. Little boys and girls need caring parents, and I hope this little boy has some close relatives to carry them forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Dave, thanks for sharing this story. I'm glad you were there for the sake of the boy's life. There isn't much that can be said in the face of loss like the lives of the parents, but you have said it well. Life is so very precious. Reading your post has been a time of standing on holy ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Dave, Thanks for being an outstanding citizen of the great state of Missouri! And thanks for sharing your experience with us; with all the bad things happening in the world, it's nice to hear something that restores our confidence in man's capacity to do good. I hope that little one has someone adopt him soon. BTW, what are your plans with the single horn: center channel?...retro mono rig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Dave, As always a great story and a wonderful thing you did you should be commended. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Dave, You earned that no-ticket. Sad about the baby losing his parents. I've often wondered about that situation, experiencing it pretty close. Is it better for a baby to lose his parents at that age and be adopted by another couple, and never experience the pain that, say, a ten year old would experience losing his parents? It's a real tragedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Phillips Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Dave, I am the "Steve" you mentioned. In 1981 I became a Volunteer Fireman in North Carolina. 8 and 1/2 years with that Rural dept, I learned a lot, saw a lot, both happy and sad endings. In about 1992 I joined another dept that was all Volunteer, but in a township. We were respected highly by the local main city and called on frequently for help. We had an ISO Ins rating of 4, we were the first dept in the state of NC to achieve that low a rating. The next year, another dept next to us achieved a 3. In all that time I never experienced anything as you described, but expected to every time the alarm went off. I was always ready to do whatever I could and even now would do whatever I can. A very moving and touching story, thank you for sharing. The Type 1 network, I do not have a schematic for it, but have the 1 R The Type 1 was adopted about that time frame. I tried to up load the schematic without any luck, if you want it, please email me at support@klipsch.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 Makes that Klipschorn seem.....well, trivial. And that's rare to say. That said, you deserve it as much as anyone.....and thanks for just being you. And prayers for the family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrench_peddler Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 I want to respond with something profound. All I can come up with is "Wow". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfz28 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 All I can say is hats off to you Sheltie, thank God for the good timing of you being at the right place at the right time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 Far better than the parents living and losing the baby -- the loss of a child seems like grief unimaginable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdc Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 Well, you've got to rememeber that the parents have parents too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 Well, I guess I get the idiot of the day award. Yeesh. Time for bed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 15, 2004 Share Posted May 15, 2004 We knew what you meant, Dean...no harm done! Thank Heaven for people like Dave, and all others throughout the world that will risk their own lives for others in need. Selfless acts like that make you a genuine hero in my book, whether you want to admit it or not! And for what it's worth, congrats on your "new" vintage Khorn. You earned and deserve the right to enjoy its wonderful sounds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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