“He Was Dead on the Pole… Until His Friend Did the Unthinkable”
Your heart is stopped by others.
Both were recorded in a single frame in 1967.
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<p>Decades later, a scene that still evokes strong emotions was captured on camera by Jacksonville Journal photojournalist Rocco Morabito.</p>
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<p>The artwork, which depicts a man saving another in the most unlikely of situations, became known as “The Kiss of Life.”</p>
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It all started on a typical workday.
In Jacksonville, Florida, two utility lineman were working on mending lines far above the streets.
![](data:;base64,<svg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 820 1024'></svg>” alt=”” width=”820″ height=”1024″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ data-attachment-id=”118673″ data-permalink=”https://middleagedclub.com/archives/118669/fgdfgdte534″ data-orig-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fgdfgdte534.jpg?fit=1080%2C1349&ssl=1″ data-orig-size=”1080,1349″ data-comments-opened=”0″ data-image-meta=”{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}” data-image-title=”fgdfgdte534″ data-image-description=”” data-image-caption=”” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fgdfgdte534.jpg?fit=240%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fgdfgdte534.jpg?fit=820%2C1024&ssl=1″ data-lazy-srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fgdfgdte534.jpg?resize=820%2C1024&ssl=1 820w, https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fgdfgdte534.jpg?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1 240w, https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fgdfgdte534.jpg?resize=768%2C959&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fgdfgdte534.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w” data-lazy-sizes=”(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px” data-lazy-src=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fgdfgdte534.jpg?resize=820%2C1024&ssl=1″ /></figure>
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<p>Traffic hummed below, the sun was merciless, and the air was heavy.</p>
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<p>Then, suddenly, the routine became lethal.</p>
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<p>A low-voltage wire came into contact with one of the males.</p>
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<figure class=)
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<p>A sharp crack was later heard, and then there was silence, according to witnesses.</p>
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<p>After tensing up, his body relaxed and hung helplessly in his harness.</p>
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<p>He appeared to have gone from the ground.</p>
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<p>His boots kicked quietly against the pole saturated with creosote, his arms hung free, and his head sagged.</p>
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<p>His buddy didn’t pause to consider or wait for orders.</p>
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<figure class=)
![](data:;base64,<svg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 400 600'></svg>” alt=”” width=”400″ height=”600″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ data-attachment-id=”118676″ data-permalink=”https://middleagedclub.com/archives/118669/fhfghrtyrtyr” data-orig-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fhfghrtyrtyr.jpg?fit=400%2C600&ssl=1″ data-orig-size=”400,600″ data-comments-opened=”0″ data-image-meta=”{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}” data-image-title=”fhfghrtyrtyr” data-image-description=”” data-image-caption=”” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fhfghrtyrtyr.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fhfghrtyrtyr.jpg?fit=400%2C600&ssl=1″ data-lazy-srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fhfghrtyrtyr.jpg?w=400&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fhfghrtyrtyr.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1 200w” data-lazy-sizes=”(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px” data-lazy-src=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/fhfghrtyrtyr.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1″ /></figure>
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<p>He was aware that every second counted.</p>
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<p>With his heart racing, he clambered up the pole as if gravity weren’t stopping him.</p>
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<p>The truth was evident when he arrived at his colleague: there was no time, no breath, and no heartbeat.</p>
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<p>Then the unimaginable happened.</p>
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<p>Unable to perform chest compressions while pinned to a narrow wooden crossbar, he put his mouth to his friend’s and gave him life—right there, clinging to the pole, thirty feet above the ground.</p>
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<p>In startled silence, the onlookers watched.</p>
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<p>Death was being kissed away by a man.</p>
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![](data:;base64,<svg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 639 1024'></svg>” alt=”” width=”639″ height=”1024″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ data-attachment-id=”118677″ data-permalink=”https://middleagedclub.com/archives/118669/rtyfghrtyrtyr-4″ data-orig-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?fit=1125%2C1804&ssl=1″ data-orig-size=”1125,1804″ data-comments-opened=”0″ data-image-meta=”{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}” data-image-title=”rtyfghrtyrtyr” data-image-description=”” data-image-caption=”” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?fit=187%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?fit=639%2C1024&ssl=1″ data-lazy-srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?resize=639%2C1024&ssl=1 639w, https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?resize=187%2C300&ssl=1 187w, https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?resize=768%2C1232&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?resize=958%2C1536&ssl=1 958w, https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?w=1125&ssl=1 1125w” data-lazy-sizes=”(max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px” data-lazy-src=”https://i0.wp.com/middleagedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/rtyfghrtyrtyr.jpg?resize=639%2C1024&ssl=1″ /></figure>
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<p>The initial breaths appeared to disappear into thin air.</p>
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<p>The victim remained motionless.</p>
<p>Desperate, the rescuer withdrew, then leaned back in.</p>
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<p>Hope against hope, breath after breath.</p>
<p>Then—something.</p>
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<p>A flash under the epidermis.</p>
<p>The smallest pulse.</p>
<p>An adrenaline rush occurred.</p>
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<p>The lineman lifted his unconscious comrade onto his shoulder with seemingly insurmountable strength and started the perilous descent.</p>
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<p>With his friend’s weight bearing down on him and his boots scuffing on splinters, every stride down that pole felt like a struggle.</p>
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<p>They would both fall to the ground with a single misstep.</p>
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<p>At last, they succeeded.</p>
<p>Another colleague joined him on the dirt below.</p>
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<p>Refusing to give up, they hammered his chest together, pumping air into his lungs.</p>
<p>In the distant, sirens cried out.</p>
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<figure class=)
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<p>The man’s chest was rising and falling once more when paramedics arrived.</p>
<p>He was in stable yet serious condition.</p>
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<p>He survived despite all odds.</p>
<p>He opened his eyes in the hospital a few days later and eventually recovered completely.</p>
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<p>As a private miracle among coworkers, the story might have ended there.</p>
<p>However, Morabito’s image altered everything.</p>
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<p>He had seen the disturbance while driving by on his way to another assignment.</p>
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<p>He reached for his camera and took the picture that encapsulated not just the rescue but also the bravery and love of people.</p>
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<p>In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1968, it image captivated hearts.</p>
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<p>It is still discussed in classrooms, taught in journalism schools, and hushed anytime someone inquires about what it means to be human.</p>
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<p>For “The Kiss of Life” is more than just a photograph of two lineman standing atop a pole.</p>
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<p>It’s evidence that sometimes all it takes for life to fall apart is one person who just won’t let go.</p>
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