# Kiss of life



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

The Kiss of Life
It was a hot July day, 1967, Florida, and although the day started out like any other morning, it would become a day that would live in linemen history.

Rocco Morabito, a journalist with the Jacksonville Journal, was headed to a local news event and paused to watch as linemen worked above him. He went on to cover a railroad strike and click a few images. As Rocco tells the story, he thought he would go back to ‘rind another picture’ but as he passed the linemen, he heard screaming. Looking up, there was Randall G. Champion. Randall was unconscious, his body hanging limp but still in his safety harness. J. D. Thompson, an apprentice lineman, reacted with lightening speed, racing to the pole and shimming up to Champion. The position of Champion’s body made it impossible to administer CPR so Thompson cradled his head in his arm and began giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, working to breath life back into his fellow lineman.

Being a photojournalist, Rocco quickly snapped an image and then ran to his car, radioing the paper to call an ambulance. Unable to help, Rocco grabbed his camera. He backed up and continued to walk backward until he hit a house. With no where else to go, he clicked THE image. As he snapped that photo, Thompson yelled out, “He’s Breathing!”

After Rocco ‘got the shot’, he returned to his car and again radioed the newspaper dispatch, this time, telling them,”You might want to wait for this. I think I’ve got a pretty good one.” And indeed he did. Rocco Morabito went on to win the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for Spot Photography – the first of its kind. Bob Pate, the copy editor of the Jacksonville Journal is credited with the ‘slug that stuck’,”The Kiss of Life.” From safety classes to anthologies, and even a documentary in 2008 on the 40th anniversary of that fateful event, the photo has maintained a life of its own.

And those men, Champion and Thompson, they both continued to work as linemen in the years to follow. Champion retired in 1991. Sadly, he passed away in 2002 at the age of 64 as a result of heart failure. Thompson retired around 1995 having received several awards for his heroism and quick thinking. He is noted as having said that, “he was acting on his training and was thankful he could revive his downed co-worker.” He was just “doing his job.”

Rocco continued to work for the newspaper for a total of 42 years, 33 of those yeas as a photographer. He retired in 1982. Rocco Morabito passed away at the age of 88 on April 5, 2009. His work, including “The Kiss of Life”, will continue to live on, illustrating the harrowing work that our linemen men and women perform every day.


Full story: https://solutions.borderstates.com/the-kiss-of-life-a-moment-in-linemen-history/?fbclid=IwAR3YfRFRVGrxXPykXxc-Qt7bSLieB9Wn8srGHNop7W-UyXbMZ7iWIInxxqU


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## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

Are you sure they weren't just gay lovers? 

...just sayin'.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

flyboy said:


> Are you sure they weren't just gay lovers?
> 
> ...just sayin'.


I kinda wondered who was gonna be the first with a comment like that....


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## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I kinda wondered who was gonna be the first with a comment like that....


I'm glad I didn't let you down. :biggrin:

Now go back and "like" my post.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

flyboy said:


> I'm glad I didn't let you down. :biggrin:
> 
> Now go back and "like" my post.


I have a natural aversion to liking anything with even the word 'gay' in it!


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)




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## jelhill (Nov 11, 2018)

Linemen are a brave bunch of guys... I'm not sure I could do it. I saw a statistic recently that stated since 2013 a total of 113 linemen have died on the job and it was the 4th most dangerous job in our country.


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## Joe Robert (Dec 21, 2017)

There is quite a thin line between brave and stupid, you know. Haha


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

I once saw a documentary on the first power grids being built and they said back then it was something like 40% chance of death during your career for being a lineman in the 1950's or earlier. Not just power but things like doing the clearing/ lumberjacking, erection, etc. All very dangerous work over those mountains.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I have a natural aversion to liking anything with even the word 'gay' in it!


That would be every Christmas song written prior to 1970 and the theme song to The Flintstones!
:vs_laugh:


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

Spool up "Slim" with Henry Fonda as a budding lineman, 1937.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

It was just, _Slim_.


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

It’s not gay if your on a pole hanging from your safety harnes. 

It’s what’s known as the “lineman’s loophole”.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

MikeFL said:


> That would be every Christmas song written prior to 1970 and the theme song to The Flintstones!
> :vs_laugh:


I meant it in regard to the new definition of the word.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

that's not the original picture that is posted above. that picture is taken from the movie of the same name starring Patrick Swayze and Richard Gere.


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