Review: Been There, Done That, Got the Scars

R. Frederick Gridley, Been There, Done That, Got the Scars (2024)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221912914-been-there-done-that-got-the-scars?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Ea1ru0fSBT&rank=1

Amusing real-life anecdotes about boating, diving and piloting experiences

This is a collection of amusing short stories and anecdotes that really happened. They are based on the author’s experience as a boating enthusiast, diving expert, pilot, parachutist and electronics engineer, both military and civilian.
Story titles like ‘Sideways at 70mph’, ‘Buckingham Oops’ and ‘Acetylene and Condoms’ give a bit of the flavour.
Every story rewards you with some clever or adorable punchline ending.
Not being a boater myself, some of the details were Greek to me (e.g. ‘5 miles off the 130 radial from page field’) but if you’re a pilot or boater these tales will ring true.
If you’re ever in any similar situations, you could learn something here, too. You learn ‘Tree Landings 101’, for example, and how to make emergency equipment out of condoms.
The tone is light, colloquial, a bit cynical, nevertheless maintaining a consistent youthful enthusiasm for life and its vicissitudes. The joy of the experience really comes through. The pace is non-stop as Fred gets himself in and out of sometimes life-threatening scrapes. But even if you don’t find potentially life-threatening situations amusing yourself, you can get a kick out of these stories.