"Please, Ben, put on your heavy sweater and your jacket," urged his mother. "You are determined to go skating. What you really need is some sense spanked into that head of yours."

"That is what you think," retorted Ben airily, "but I've got to live my own life.

An hour later Ben had fallen into the icy water of Green Lake. The ice that had seemed "thick enough to hold up a four-horse team," had cracked beneath the weight of his slender body. The village volunteer fire company was called to the rescue. He was fished out of the icy lake, not breathing and stiff with cold. His response to artificial respiration was slow but he finally began to take deep slow breaths. The doctor tried to take care of him at home, but fearing that Ben was losing the battle for his life suggested the move to the area's largest hospital. With trepidation, the family made the twenty-five mile trip. Despite an uphill battle, and because of the prayers of many church members and friends, Ben survived his illness a slightly more humble young man more willing to listen to good advice.