Get down off that roof!
 

Most mornings I drink coffee with several guys at a local Waffle House. For the past three or four years one fellow has been trying to talk me into attending a national. He is a sports memorabilia dealer that I'm sure some of you know. His name is Darrell O'Mary.
The reason I bring this up is because on December 22 while cleaning the gutters on his house he fell about 18 ft to the deck and ground, breaking his leg, hand and jaw. A friend has been in touch with him and as of January 4 he was still in the hospital. I can imagine what surgeries he might still need.
Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Oh yes, get down off that roof!

I have heard of some many similar injuries in the past few years. A couple near fatal. Agree. Unless you do this for a living stay off the roof.

I'm sure many of you have met Darrell. He told me that he hasn't missed a national in 25 yrs, or thereabouts.

His booth at the 2009 National

I fear going on the roof every time I have had to do it. I do think of this quote from a movie every time I do:

"My brother's in a wheel chair because of a freak accident as a kid. One day we were playing touch football and he fell off the roof." -Timothy Dunphy, Outside Providence

I'm a 40 year commercial roofer if you can stay off your roof stay off it. My brother lives in California he did the same thing up on his roof trying to get back on a step ladder fell on his neck almost broke his neck from 8 feet. I told him it would have been cheaper flying me from New York

I do a lot of work with retirement communities. You would be shocked at the large percentage of men who come there because of a fall or a near fall from a ladder.

I fell of the roof 20 years ago, putting up Christmas lights. I got away with a broken wrist.

Three things I recall:
1. Standing on a roof and looking at the ground is a lot farther than standing on the ground and looking at the roof. About two body lengths different.
2. The ground comes at you much faster than you'd think.
3. There is no way to flip or adjust your body while in "mid flight". We are not cats.

Darrell is a GREAT and I mean great guy! I used to hang out with him and others at the National in Bob Presley's booth. It's was amazing the stuff he had and the knowledge to go with it. Seemed like there were always auction house ow ears lining up to try to get him to consign a piece or two. I think trying to get Darrell to consign a nice trophy was like asking him to fill a small tiny cavity That wasn't causing any pain.

Bruce, can you PM which hospital he is at and mad Prayers going his way.

Jc

My mom has a tin roof with a pretty big pitch. I was cleaning part of it and found myself in a battle of will vs. gravity. Will prevailed, but Gravity let Will know that it would be back another day.

Yup, that's him!

Best Wishes
 

Yes...further proof that Mr. Gravity is not always your friend. Eighteen feet is a long way to fall !! After 50 years of age please limit yourself to 3 rungs on a ladder. Or get any help you can recruit!! Best wishes to Mr O'Mary for a speedy recovery..
Sincerely, Dennis

So sorry to hear this. Daryl is one of the really nice guys of the hobby and always has some of the really special memorabilia in the room. Does anyone have a contact for him?

i'll see if I can get his cell number tomorrow.

I talked to Darrell today and relayed your well wishes. He is still in physical therapy close to the hospital and hasn't been home since his accident on Dec 22.
He seems in good spirits, even asked me to bring him a bag of tomatoes.:p
(I raise them in the spring and summer)
He welcomes phone calls so if you want to call him and need his number let me know.

I chatted with him on the weekend. Had just met him once at his booth at the Chicago National a couple of years ago. Was checking in on the availability of an item he had then and learned of his fall - wow, it was a rough one and will be a tough slog to come back from. His spirits seem high and he is certainly an interesting and dedicated fan of the hobby. Best wishes for a full recovery Sir!

He's lucky to be alive. About 15 years ago, after buying and moving into my first house I hired a company to install central AC. The owner was a great guy and had been in business 25+ years. One day during installation, he fell off our roof hitting the back of his head on cement fracturing his skull and died on the way to the hospital. Incredibly sad story. Glad to hear Darrell is going to be ok.

This morning was Darrell's first time back to our Waffle house since his accident. I could tell that he had lost some weight and he was moving real slow. His right arm was in a sling (broken hand) and he was using one of those 4 footed canes.
He had been in the hospital and rehab for about six weeks.
It looks like he has a ways to go.

That is a tragic story. I hate to be this cynical, but since your in LA I have to ask, did you get sued?

He's lucky to have made it out alive and still able to move about. Someone I knew in college was on a balcony when it collapsed and he ended up paralyzed from the chest down. Crazy things can happen!

A co worker of mine fell off roof about 4 years ago and landed on his head. He has recovered to a certain extent but has difficulty talking and speaks very slowly.


Bottom line, leave gutter cleaning and roof work to the professionals. A small price to pay to guarantee your safety. Just buy a few less cards and use that money to hire someone.

As president of my company and King of Sp@id Manor, I'm not allowed to to get on a ladder. Too much cash flow at stake.

Oh yeah of course. The kicker was the general contractor had let his insurance lapse for a week when the accident happened. Luckily my home owners covered me 100% but the general contractor lost everything including his business.