By RON MALY
I've been meaning to share this story with you for a while.
It starts a few months ago on a day I visited the office of one of my doctors.
As all of you know, when a patient visits a doctor's office these days,
he or she first is met by a nurse or technician, whose job it is to
review the person's medications, take the blood pressure, check the
pulse, stuff like that.
When I arrived at the doctor's office that day a few months ago, I was greeted by a technician I'll call Stephanie.
Stephanie is a very efficient, very cordial young lady.
She works in a medical office that is full of people [including my doctor] who are very cordial.
I like that because I always try to be friendly when I visit a doctor's office. My hope is to talk about as many things as possible that are not health-related.
So, while Stephanie was taking my blood pressure, I asked where she was from.
"Carroll, Iowa," she said.
Carroll is 75 miles northwest of Des Moines.
"Nice town," I said. "Lots of good people in Carroll. What's going on in Carroll these days?"
"Well, they found a naked man in a chimney there a few days ago," Stephanie said calmly.
That got my attention immediately.
I laughed a lot when I heard it.
"A naked man in a chimney?" I said. "What's that all about?"
"I don't know the details," Stephanie said, "but I'm going to find out the next time I'm back home."
"When you find out, let me know," I said. "I'd like to hear more about that deal."
I got a good report from the doctor that day.
That may have been the day the doctor used a pencil to draw a picture of my profile on a sheet of paper and handed it to me as a gift [remember, I told you this was an office of friendly people].
Stephanie, the cordial technician, said goodbye and she'd see me at my next appointment. I then drove home.
Later that day, I went to my computer to see if I could find anything about a naked man being found in a chimney in Carroll.
I did.
I don't keep track of the news the way I did in the old days, so I missed the original story about the naked man in the chimney..
A story on KCCI [perhaps originated by the Associated Press, the Carroll Daily Times Herald and/or other news services] said, "A man trapped in a chimney at an Iowa business has pleaded not guilty to a trespassing charge.
"Jordan Kajewski, 29, spent at least 11 hours stuck inside the chimney. He told authorities he was playing hide-and-seek [with his cousin].
"He has....been released from jail. He declined to comment to the Carroll Daily Times Herald following the hearing.
"Brad Sapp, owner of the Carroll Redemption Center, said nothing too exciting ever happened at his shop in downtown Carroll. That is until when he heard something in the back room.
“'I was dragging some bags out and I heard a voice say what I thought was ‘Get out of here,’ but in a whisper of a voice,” said Sapp. “So I kind of looked around and didn't see anything.'
"Sapp says he went home and told his wife, who made fun of him for hearing ghosts. His wife heard a sound coming from the shop’s old chimney when they returned a few hours later.
“'And that's when the guy finally came out, and said, ‘Hey, I need help. I'm in the chimney,’” said Sapp.
"The couple called 911 to help get the man out.
“'In my career as a firefighter that's got to be one of the most unusual cases that I’ve ever responded to,” said Carroll Fire Chief Greg Schreck.
"Schreck said crews were able to see and communicate with Kajewski, who was stuck toward the base of the chimney.
“'He was very calm and relaxed, and he just wanted to get out of the chimney,” said Schreck. “He'd been in there a long time.”
"The fire department’s ladder truck was unable to help the man because he was too far down inside the chimney. Crews were forced to break the chimney’s brick wall to get Kajewski out.
"Daily Times Herald reporter Jared Strong, who arrived at the scene after hearing about the incident on police scanner traffic, reported that Kajewski [photo courtesy of Strong, the Daily Times Herald and the AP] was naked when firefighters pulled him from the chimney, and that Kajewski claimed he was playing hide-and-seek when he got stuck.
“'I've been a crime reporter for a while now, and you see some crazy things, although I don't think I ever thought about seeing a naked man emerge from a chimney.'"
So there's your story.
I plan to get an update from Stephanie the next time I see her and the doctor.
Meanwhile, have a very happy Thanksgiving.
It starts a few months ago on a day I visited the office of one of my doctors.
When I arrived at the doctor's office that day a few months ago, I was greeted by a technician I'll call Stephanie.
Stephanie is a very efficient, very cordial young lady.
She works in a medical office that is full of people [including my doctor] who are very cordial.
I like that because I always try to be friendly when I visit a doctor's office. My hope is to talk about as many things as possible that are not health-related.
So, while Stephanie was taking my blood pressure, I asked where she was from.
"Carroll, Iowa," she said.
Carroll is 75 miles northwest of Des Moines.
"Nice town," I said. "Lots of good people in Carroll. What's going on in Carroll these days?"
"Well, they found a naked man in a chimney there a few days ago," Stephanie said calmly.
That got my attention immediately.
I laughed a lot when I heard it.
"A naked man in a chimney?" I said. "What's that all about?"
"I don't know the details," Stephanie said, "but I'm going to find out the next time I'm back home."
"When you find out, let me know," I said. "I'd like to hear more about that deal."
I got a good report from the doctor that day.
That may have been the day the doctor used a pencil to draw a picture of my profile on a sheet of paper and handed it to me as a gift [remember, I told you this was an office of friendly people].
Stephanie, the cordial technician, said goodbye and she'd see me at my next appointment. I then drove home.
Later that day, I went to my computer to see if I could find anything about a naked man being found in a chimney in Carroll.
I did.
I don't keep track of the news the way I did in the old days, so I missed the original story about the naked man in the chimney..
A story on KCCI [perhaps originated by the Associated Press, the Carroll Daily Times Herald and/or other news services] said, "A man trapped in a chimney at an Iowa business has pleaded not guilty to a trespassing charge.
"Jordan Kajewski, 29, spent at least 11 hours stuck inside the chimney. He told authorities he was playing hide-and-seek [with his cousin].
"He has....been released from jail. He declined to comment to the Carroll Daily Times Herald following the hearing.
"Brad Sapp, owner of the Carroll Redemption Center, said nothing too exciting ever happened at his shop in downtown Carroll. That is until when he heard something in the back room.
“'I was dragging some bags out and I heard a voice say what I thought was ‘Get out of here,’ but in a whisper of a voice,” said Sapp. “So I kind of looked around and didn't see anything.'
"Sapp says he went home and told his wife, who made fun of him for hearing ghosts. His wife heard a sound coming from the shop’s old chimney when they returned a few hours later.
“'And that's when the guy finally came out, and said, ‘Hey, I need help. I'm in the chimney,’” said Sapp.
"The couple called 911 to help get the man out.
“'In my career as a firefighter that's got to be one of the most unusual cases that I’ve ever responded to,” said Carroll Fire Chief Greg Schreck.
"Schreck said crews were able to see and communicate with Kajewski, who was stuck toward the base of the chimney.
“'He was very calm and relaxed, and he just wanted to get out of the chimney,” said Schreck. “He'd been in there a long time.”
"The fire department’s ladder truck was unable to help the man because he was too far down inside the chimney. Crews were forced to break the chimney’s brick wall to get Kajewski out.
"Daily Times Herald reporter Jared Strong, who arrived at the scene after hearing about the incident on police scanner traffic, reported that Kajewski [photo courtesy of Strong, the Daily Times Herald and the AP] was naked when firefighters pulled him from the chimney, and that Kajewski claimed he was playing hide-and-seek when he got stuck.
“'I've been a crime reporter for a while now, and you see some crazy things, although I don't think I ever thought about seeing a naked man emerge from a chimney.'"
So there's your story.
I plan to get an update from Stephanie the next time I see her and the doctor.
Meanwhile, have a very happy Thanksgiving.
