When, I was about 6 or 7, some firemen from the local fire station came to our school. The whole 1st grade class was there in the cafeteria. The firemen taught us about fire safety. over to the school. The in case of a fire, and all of that other stuff. Then a fireman said, now, I'm going to tell you what to expect if you break a bone. You'll be taken to the hospital, and X-rays will be taken of the broken bone, and then the doctor will put a cast on your bone, to make it heal. He then held up a short arm cast (sac) and, he said, the cast will be on your arm for about 4 to 6 weeks, or until it heals. At that time the doctor will cut the cast off, but, you won't feel any pain. The doctor uses a special kind of saw, made to cut casts off. Then the fireman asked if anyone had any questions. I didn't have any questions, I was still too busy staring at the cast. I remember going up and looking at the sac, and thinking man, I want one of those. So, when I went out to play I'd play rougher to try and break my arm or something, anything just to get a cast. I would try day to day, year after year. I would build tree houses, try skateboarding, jumping ramps with my bicycle had a couple close calls, ride through parking garages, you know, just being a boy!

     In the 5th grade, I remember this girl named Sarah, I sat right next to her in class, well when she came to school Monday, she had something on her arm that just caught my eye. I looked at her arm and she had a sac, on her right arm! I stared at it, and she asked me what I was looking at, and I asked her what happened to her arm. She, told me that she slipped on a paper bag at church Sunday. I said, man you're lucky! I have done more dangerous stuff than that, and I've never broken anything, and you slip on a paper bag, and break your arm! She just kind of laughed. I asked her if she wanted to go steady with me and she said, no. So, I had a crush on her, and she knew it! I remember thinking to myself, man, I wish I could trade places with her! After, that, I continued to try and break something. The next cast I remember seeing was on the next door neighbors friend who lived down the street, she had a lac, and once again, I asked her what happened and how she broke it. She told me that she fell over backwards and landed on her arm when she was in the rocking chair. I said, I wish I could break something and get a cast. She told me to try that, and I tried, and it didn't work! So, I kept trying to break something, anything to get a cast.

     I would also learn about Ace bandages, after seeing a few people and friends at school who sprained their ankle or wrist. So, I went to the local Walgreens and looked for and bought some Ace bandages, took them home, and locked my bedroom door, and I'd read the instructions on how to wrap different stuff. I wrapped my arm up with the bandages, legs, etc., anything to simulate the feeling, of being immobile. It was great! My mom found them while she was cleaning, up my room, she didn't say anything though. I would of came up with a good excuse, reason to have them. My next time to see a cast in school, or to remember, was in the 6th grade. It was on this boy named William, I had a couple of classes with him. I noticed that he was wearing 2 llc's I about fainted! I had to do a double take, or more! I didn't talk to him cause he was a bully. I didn't like his kind. So, each class we had together, I'd look at his casts, I don't think he ever busted me for it. After school, that day I had to stay after school for Study Hall, I saw William, walk in the door and he sat down next to me. I kinda wanted to move, but, I stayed, I got up the nerve to ask him what happened. I asked him, what he did to get 2 broken legs? He kind of laughed, and said, I was trying to tip over a coke machine, to get free cokes, and some money, but it fell over on top of me and pinned my legs under the coke machine. I asked him how he got out from under the machine, and he said, that a tenant of the apartment complex pulled him out. Then, I asked him how high they went and he said, all the way up to my thigh, and I felt my jaw drop! I looked and he was right. I told him that I've always tried to break something to get a cast. He said that's cool, you want me to break your arm? I said, no! It would hurt too much! I believe they were fiber also. So, time went on.

     Around the time that I was 15, we moved to another town and I had to make new best friends and start new schools. I started working with my new best friend Jason, going door to door, trying to get people to subscribe to the Houston Chronicle, a local paper. I remember this one lady, I knocked on her door, and someone answered the door slowly and I could see a walker, I then looked at her toes, and from there on, I was mesmerized. I continued looking up and I saw that she was wearing 2 llc's they were white, I believe they were fiber. I kept staring at her casts, and I finally looked her in the face, and asked her what happened. She said, I had to have surgery, due to a car wreck I think she said. I had forgotten why I knocked on her door, and she asked me if I was selling something. I said, oh yeah, would you like to subscribe for the Houston Chronicle, she said, I already get it. I said, OK sorry to bother you ma'am, hope you get better soon! So, that was the 2nd time I saw 2 llc's. I thought to myself, man, I wish I could be in her place. I kept trying to do stupid stuff to break something. It never happened. One day when I was playing volleyball, I went up to attempt to spike the ball for the first time, I spiked the ball all right, while in the process, I forgot to make a fist and hit the ball, instead, I left my fingers extended, and jammed my ring finger on my left hand, I felt a lot of pain, and I looked down at my finger and it was bent all out of shape, so, I straightened it out, and it started swelling, I put some ice on it, but, that didn't help. So, I got my mom to take me to the hospital, the doctor then x-rayed my finger and said, you have a fracture, I said, oh, do I get a cast? He said, no it's just a incomplete fracture, I said, bummer! He gave me 2 finger splints, the ones that are shaped like popsicle sticks, they were padded with foam on the tops of them, and some tape. I said, thanks, doc. I wish I would of gotten a cast out of that, but, it was better than nothing! Every time I saw a cast, I stopped and stared.

     During this time, I kept going back and forth from my mom's house to my dad's house, it was like if I got mad at my mom I'd go to my dads kind of thing. I started new schools again, and I remember seeing this one deaf girl in a wheelchair, I had a crush on her too. I asked her what happened to her in sign language (if you were wondering how I know sign language, my brother is deaf). She told me that she had MS, and I said, I'm so sorry to hear that. We became good friends. My dad moved to another city, and, once again, I changed schools, guess I was about 16 or so. I had to make new friends again. I made a few friends, one girl named Candy, came to school one day with crutches, and some kind of brace on her leg, it was one of them kind used to immobilize the knee, from thigh to below the calf. I forget what happened to her, I did ask. I kept seeing football players with casts on, didn't find out what they did, guess it was football related. My dad and I, would get mad at each other, and we'd chase each other around, and all never really hit each other. One day we were working on his van, I think working on the engine, I said something to make him mad at me, and he kicked the calen (engine cover in a full size van) and it has 4 brackets that hold it in place to the dashboard of the van. I felt one of the brackets, hit my leg, and my dad started coming after me, and I tried to run I got about 4 steps, and I collapsed, I looked down at my knee, and blood was shooting out, I was in pain, I got up and started walking inside, my dad was apologizing, and I thought it was cool, cause when I would extend my leg blood would squirt out, but it hurt bad! I got my dad to take me to the emergency room, after I wrapped it with a old shirt, and the doctors rushed me in to the x-ray room, and then I was taken to a suture room, I asked the doctor what are you gonna just stitch this thing, up? He said, just lay there and calm down, but I was to mad and in too much pain for that. So, I calmed down anyway. He came back in about 10 minutes, seemed like a eternity. He told me that it's not broke but, you did hit a artery in your knee, I said, no s@#*. I asked, so you're gonna put a cast on my leg right? He said, no not for this we're just gonna wrap your knee with gauze and a ace bandage or 2. I was pissed I said, well that ain't gonna stop me from bending my knee, that's what you want right? He said, I can't put a cast on you for that. I said what ever doc. He just laughed and walked out of the room later returning with some crutches, he then cleaned my knee up real good and wrapped my knee with gauze and the ace bandages. He handed me the crutches, and I got down easily, and learned how to use crutches. I went to school the next day and my friends asked what happened and I told them. My friend Candy was still wearing that leg brace, and one of our other friends said, great, now we got 2 crippled people here. We all just started laughing. I just loved all the attention I was getting from this! I even got to get out of each class 5 minutes early, a key to the elevator, and I got one of my friends from every class to carry my books, lunch, everything I needed help with, it was great!

     Though, I never successfully broke anything, I've always wanted to, and I also still liked looking at and seeing casts, bandages, and braces. I kind of put this in the back of my head, and every time I saw a person casted, or wrapped in a bandage, or braced, I thought about it all over again. I learned about the Internet, about 3 years ago when I was 21 or so. I immediately went to the search mode, and started searching for something about broken bones, body casts, and arm casts. The search revealed something that I had no idea existed... I started looking through the stuff that was on the search results page, I went to Plaster of Paradise, better known as PoP. I didn't believe what I was seeing! I had to shake my head to make sure that I was really seeing this. I followed the instructions on the page that said, if this is your first time here, click here, so, I did. I learned from reading the story that I wasn't weird for liking casts, and that I was not alone! That right there let me know that I found what I yearned for and wanted all these years. I stayed glued to that computer for about a day. I clicked on every picture on that page, I didn't want to miss anything. I went to all the stories, and even clicked on a few links. I came across another page I liked, The Casting Page for Casters, a very helpful page. I started mailing people that operated these sites, and thanked them for putting these pages up. I mailed the PoP guy and asked him all about the page, and I told him that I wanted to come to visit him and do some casting, because, I had no idea how to make a cast. I didn't have any supplies, no money, no job and, no ride. Yep, basically s.o.l. so, I went to start driving trucks, I did that for a while, then I went out to medical supply stores, and found some rolls of plaster, stockinet, and some rolls of that bulky cotton, I went home and attempted to make a lac, it turned out pretty good, for the first cast I've ever made! I got the feeling of finally being complete, like my body was missing something all along, and now it was complete! Since, then I did a cast just about every time I was at home off the road, living with my mom that was a hard sneaky thing to do. I have even been busted a few times with a cast on my arm. It's fun being casted, it is also a weird fetish, but for me and as well for a lot of other casters it's just a way of life and we like it...

     I would now like to thank a few people for being here, and making my cast wishes a casting reality! I would like to thank, Bob (Caster) PLASTER OF PARadISe, ArmCast Cast Central Grant (ACEman) Psycho Casting Page, Tim (Castfun) Castfun's Cast House, JD ORTHOPEDIC ART GALLERY, and many many others who have casting pages. Now, have fun and like I said, You don't have to be casted, but it Helps! It's fun being casted!!!