Sydney, Australia - Jerry Oman almost dropped to his death after trying to get a sock off his laundry clothesline 200 feet up in the air. He decided to take the clothes off the line to surprise his wife, but then noticed a sock tangled in the cord. He slowly made his way to the sock, but then lost control because of the high winds. He slipped and hung on for 45 minutes before firefighters were finally able to rescue him.

It happened over a busy street, where the couple had decided to string a line between two high rise apartments. Mrs. Oman always liked the smell of freshly dried laundry and convinced her husband that the outside line was a necessity.

Says Mr. Oman -" My wife would have knocked my head had she noticed that one of my green socks was missing. And it didn't look too high until I was swinging from it. The wind was alot stronger than I thought.

Mrs. Oman says that she will still continue to use the line, but only if Mr. Oman promises not to be a hero again. " I don't think a stupid sock is worth a life. He's really determined to do acrobatics when he drinks, but that'll change soon. I'm getting rid of those bottles he thinks I don't know about". Mr Oman did not have anything else to say except that he ended up losing the sock. " It's a downright shame that I almost died for a dumb sock and never managed to bring it back to safety. Now I'll have to throw the other sock away...it's a shame".

Above: Jerry Oman hangs on for dear life 200 feet above busy street

"I told her it was a stupid idea to have a clothes line between two apartment buildings..."

                                           Jerry Oman
                                                   Lucky to be alive
                                                                                                  

"He got a good whopping when they rescued him...I told him to forget about the sock stuck in the line...he didn't listen "

                                            Maria Oman
                              Wife