our SoCal Import Model: "PerzBenz" - ladies, cover your eyes
07-24-2005, 02:02 PM
#54
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Location: SOCAL Lake forest! :D
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your sister.
07-25-2005, 12:28 PM
#57
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"No sign, until Sean spotted what he thought was a toy pinwheel glinting in sunlight"
A true (and lucky) survivor
Water squeezed from moss helps sustain a lost hiker for five days in a Big Island lava field
By Karin Stanton
Associated Press
WAIMEA, Hawaii » A Texas man who spent five days lost in a lava field near the Big Island's Kilauea volcano said yesterday that he survived by squeezing water from moss he found on trees sprinkled across an otherwise barren landscape.
Gilbert Dewey Gaedcke III was rescued Friday afternoon after a helicopter spotted him stumbling across the rocky lava, trying to attract attention with a mirror from his camera.
He had been missing since Sunday night, when he decided to take a hike across the barren and desolate lava fields to get a closer look at the active volcano.
The 41-year-old experienced hiker from Austin, Texas, said he saw no water anywhere, but there were pockets of jungle-like vegetation sprinkled throughout the old lava flow.
Gaedcke said he would crawl beneath the vines and lick moisture off leaves. Then he found moss growing on the trees and was able to squeeze enough water from it to drink.
"It was muddy, green, mossy water, but it worked," he said. "If I hadn't found that I'd be dead right now."
Gaedcke said tour helicopters had flown overhead all week, but he was unable to attract attention because the cloud cover blocked the sun.
Then late Friday afternoon, 17-year-old Sean "PerzBenz", a tourist on a helicopter tour, spotted an odd glint in the late afternoon sunlight.
"It was the only thing like that out there," said Sean, of Lake Forest, Calif. "As we got closer we realized it was a man."
It was Gaedcke, dehydrated but otherwise OK after surviving five days in the heat, lost amid acres of blackened volcanic rock.
"I wound up on some of the most vicious terrain I've ever seen," Gaedcke said yesterday as he rested at a friend's home before flying home to Texas last night. "It's all gray rock -- terrible stuff -- then vegetation like an oasis, then more gray rock."
Gaedcke's rented car had been found days earlier at the end of a road near an old lava flow bordering the east side of the 333,000-acre Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Fire crews and rangers from the adjacent Hawaii Volcanoes National Park searched for days, on foot and on horseback. Helicopters buzzed the area, but there was no sign of Gaedcke.
No sign, until Sean spotted what he thought was a toy pinwheel glinting in the sunlight.
When her son asked Blue Hawaiian Helicopters pilot Cliff Muzzi to get a closer look, Sean's mother said Muzzi replied, "Well, let's go check it out."
"As we got closer you could see the man flashing a mirror and waving a dark orange fabric," she said. "As he was coming down the path, clearly he couldn't move that well."
Muzzi circled for 20 minutes, Sean said, then radioed the authorities, giving them Gaedcke's exact location.
Meanwhile, Sean's sister, Asha, and a friend wrapped bottles of water in airsickness bags to drop to the distressed hiker.
"It was so amazing," Sean said. "To see a person out there was like seeing a person on the face of the moon."
After returning his passengers to Hilo International Airport, Muzzi headed back for Gaedcke, then whisked him back to the airport, some 17 miles to the northeast. Medical crews were waiting to take him to Hilo Medical Center.
Gaedcke said he had seen the bright glow of the lava but then missed his car walking back in the dark. He hiked inland, expecting to intersect with the road, but he was lost by morning.
His feet and hands were cut up from stumbling on the sharp lava rock, and he estimates he walked about 10 miles during the five days, spending most of that time searching for water.
Gaedcke stayed at the hospital for three hours Friday and left with his sister, Tracy Smith, of Houston, who had flown in Thursday morning and had made public appeals on television in the search for her brother, who is a computer consultant in Austin.
Gaedcke, who has two young daughters at home, said he had many reasons to survive. He and his sisters said they thanked everyone involved in the search.
"My feet feel like I had a 30-day adventure," he said. "And if it weren't for my feet, I'd be dancing a jig right now."
Water squeezed from moss helps sustain a lost hiker for five days in a Big Island lava field
By Karin Stanton
Associated Press
WAIMEA, Hawaii » A Texas man who spent five days lost in a lava field near the Big Island's Kilauea volcano said yesterday that he survived by squeezing water from moss he found on trees sprinkled across an otherwise barren landscape.
Gilbert Dewey Gaedcke III was rescued Friday afternoon after a helicopter spotted him stumbling across the rocky lava, trying to attract attention with a mirror from his camera.
He had been missing since Sunday night, when he decided to take a hike across the barren and desolate lava fields to get a closer look at the active volcano.
The 41-year-old experienced hiker from Austin, Texas, said he saw no water anywhere, but there were pockets of jungle-like vegetation sprinkled throughout the old lava flow.
Gaedcke said he would crawl beneath the vines and lick moisture off leaves. Then he found moss growing on the trees and was able to squeeze enough water from it to drink.
"It was muddy, green, mossy water, but it worked," he said. "If I hadn't found that I'd be dead right now."
Gaedcke said tour helicopters had flown overhead all week, but he was unable to attract attention because the cloud cover blocked the sun.
Then late Friday afternoon, 17-year-old Sean "PerzBenz", a tourist on a helicopter tour, spotted an odd glint in the late afternoon sunlight.
"It was the only thing like that out there," said Sean, of Lake Forest, Calif. "As we got closer we realized it was a man."
It was Gaedcke, dehydrated but otherwise OK after surviving five days in the heat, lost amid acres of blackened volcanic rock.
"I wound up on some of the most vicious terrain I've ever seen," Gaedcke said yesterday as he rested at a friend's home before flying home to Texas last night. "It's all gray rock -- terrible stuff -- then vegetation like an oasis, then more gray rock."
Gaedcke's rented car had been found days earlier at the end of a road near an old lava flow bordering the east side of the 333,000-acre Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Fire crews and rangers from the adjacent Hawaii Volcanoes National Park searched for days, on foot and on horseback. Helicopters buzzed the area, but there was no sign of Gaedcke.
No sign, until Sean spotted what he thought was a toy pinwheel glinting in the sunlight.
When her son asked Blue Hawaiian Helicopters pilot Cliff Muzzi to get a closer look, Sean's mother said Muzzi replied, "Well, let's go check it out."
"As we got closer you could see the man flashing a mirror and waving a dark orange fabric," she said. "As he was coming down the path, clearly he couldn't move that well."
Muzzi circled for 20 minutes, Sean said, then radioed the authorities, giving them Gaedcke's exact location.
Meanwhile, Sean's sister, Asha, and a friend wrapped bottles of water in airsickness bags to drop to the distressed hiker.
"It was so amazing," Sean said. "To see a person out there was like seeing a person on the face of the moon."
After returning his passengers to Hilo International Airport, Muzzi headed back for Gaedcke, then whisked him back to the airport, some 17 miles to the northeast. Medical crews were waiting to take him to Hilo Medical Center.
Gaedcke said he had seen the bright glow of the lava but then missed his car walking back in the dark. He hiked inland, expecting to intersect with the road, but he was lost by morning.
His feet and hands were cut up from stumbling on the sharp lava rock, and he estimates he walked about 10 miles during the five days, spending most of that time searching for water.
Gaedcke stayed at the hospital for three hours Friday and left with his sister, Tracy Smith, of Houston, who had flown in Thursday morning and had made public appeals on television in the search for her brother, who is a computer consultant in Austin.
Gaedcke, who has two young daughters at home, said he had many reasons to survive. He and his sisters said they thanked everyone involved in the search.
"My feet feel like I had a 30-day adventure," he said. "And if it weren't for my feet, I'd be dancing a jig right now."
07-25-2005, 12:32 PM
#58
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not only is he a SUPE' STA'............
Sean is a HERO !!
Sean is a HERO !!
07-25-2005, 12:44 PM
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1959 220S / 1979 230 G / 2002 A210 AMG / 2003 C320 SC / 2004.5 C320 SS / 2005 ML350 SE / 2008 smart
Originally Posted by ChrisDPham
lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
why is it that everytime I am caught in a picture I look f*#ked up. haha
why is it that everytime I am caught in a picture I look f*#ked up. haha
maybe Sean, could teach you a trick or two !
don't make me start a funky Chris picture thread now.....
07-25-2005, 02:54 PM
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actually, there's plenty of pictures of me throughout all these threads...
only problem is that i'm ugly as f#ck and not very photogenic when it comes to the poses, like our HERO: Sean !
only problem is that i'm ugly as f#ck and not very photogenic when it comes to the poses, like our HERO: Sean !
07-25-2005, 04:16 PM
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I drive a E55T, SLK55 and 65 Mustang Conv.
I leave you guys alone for 1 weekend 
I looked but cannot find a single photo of Sean in my stash. That's amazing in itself.
Kim
I looked but cannot find a single photo of Sean in my stash. That's amazing in itself.Kim
07-25-2005, 04:30 PM
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1959 220S / 1979 230 G / 2002 A210 AMG / 2003 C320 SC / 2004.5 C320 SS / 2005 ML350 SE / 2008 smart
Originally Posted by Lady Wolf
I leave you guys alone for 1 weekend
I've been a bad boy !
07-25-2005, 04:36 PM
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I drive a E55T, SLK55 and 65 Mustang Conv.
Originally Posted by Saprissa
I've been a bad boy !
07-25-2005, 05:51 PM
#69
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1959 220S / 1979 230 G / 2002 A210 AMG / 2003 C320 SC / 2004.5 C320 SS / 2005 ML350 SE / 2008 smart
Originally Posted by MJ1133
Who's PerzBenz...
Originally Posted by MJ1133
and why have I never heard of him 
and because online you're still an MBWorld newbie.
07-25-2005, 05:53 PM
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88 Caddy on 28's
Originally Posted by Saprissa
he's the MBWorld SUPE' STA'
because physically you're not in SoCal,
and because online you're still an MBWorld newbie.
because physically you're not in SoCal,
and because online you're still an MBWorld newbie.
07-25-2005, 06:01 PM
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1959 220S / 1979 230 G / 2002 A210 AMG / 2003 C320 SC / 2004.5 C320 SS / 2005 ML350 SE / 2008 smart
Originally Posted by rammbs
LOL
carlos, you are really a good spokeperson! how much do you charge?
carlos, you are really a good spokeperson! how much do you charge?
07-25-2005, 06:01 PM
#74
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Originally Posted by Saprissa
he's the MBWorld SUPE' STA'
Can't imagine how long it'll take just to get an autograph? 
07-25-2005, 06:09 PM
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actually James/John (which is it by the way ???),
since you're a honorary member of the SoCal Committee, and so is PerzBenz, your appointment schedule requirement is waived, and you'll get a complimentary autographed photo.
Meet us on August 13th.... Tia Juana's (IRVINE) 6pm for dinner/drinks.
since you're a honorary member of the SoCal Committee, and so is PerzBenz, your appointment schedule requirement is waived, and you'll get a complimentary autographed photo.
Meet us on August 13th.... Tia Juana's (IRVINE) 6pm for dinner/drinks.
