Life: a risky business

PHOTO BY CHANDRA

Have you ever thought about how risky life is and what a miracle it is so many of us manage to make it into adulthood? I’m not paranoid, but dangers do lurk at every turn.

I’M NOT PARANOID

What with nature’s furies — hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, fires, floods, lightening and storms; the billions of microscopic bacilli and viruses around, on and in us; man made hazards like guns, explosives and weapons of war, it’s amazing I’m still here!

I can’t help but think of accidents with cars, trains and planes. I step onto my balcony and imagine it falling down to the cement patio three floors down — with me on it. gosh! Well, it could happen.

Normal people just live their lives, but I think of these things. Your chances of dying in an earthquake are one in 11 million. Not much. But what’s if I’m the designated driver?

EVIL PEOPLE?

They say one in 20 million die after being bitten by a dog. I constantly meet dogs on my daily walks. Does a snarl mean I should say goodbye right now? Then there are also evil people who may attack me even if a dog doesn’t. Oh, my….

WHY DO NEIGHBOURS TAKE THE STAIRS?

Apparently the risk of being injured in an elevator is one in six million. My building has one. I use it every day. Some neighbours always take the stairs. Do they know something I don’t? And, why aren’t they telling me?

A CELESTIAL BODY??

I’m not a scared person, but what I’m really terrified of is being hit directly by a celestial body. I have a one in a 150 trillion chance of this happening, but what’s if I’m the person standing right where the darn thing comes down if it does, when it does? Yikes!

There are a lot of other reasons why life is a risky business, but I won’t go there. You’d have to be a little nutty to worry about everything.

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Pedestrians vs. Motorists.

Left your patience at home?

What’s going on? There seems to be a senseless battle in my town between pedestrians and motorists, and you’d think we who are older and supposedly wiser wouldn’t participate in the madness, but it ain’t necessarily so. Where has our common sense gone? Lives are destroyed and ended in a crazy game of ‘I dare you!’

Real lives are destroyed

 

 

 

I’m no longer driving which makes me a pedestrian. My opinion, however, hasn’t changed. My active imagination always saw my car as a possible killing machine bigger than you and capable of doing major damage, so I didn’t like driving and was extra careful.

 

C’mon, let me cross

It was thus a surprise to learn the adversaries in this combat include my contemporaries. Over lunch, a driving friend told me, during an angry diatribe against all pedestrians, that she never, ever stops for pedestrians if they are not at a corner or in a crosswalk.

‘I don’t care,’ she declared, ‘They’re breaking the law.’ What? Is this what we’ve become?

Another driver recently called pedestrians ‘pestrians’ in my presence. I nearly choked on my coffee.

Meanwhile, non-driving friends complain about drivers who whiz by and don’t stop for them when they absolutely should. No one wins in this crap game.

No one wins…

pack some patience, but leave your phone at home

C’mon everyone. Let’s leave home a few minutes earlier and pack some patience in the car — stay away from your cellphone and look out for those stupid pedestrians who cross the street looking at theirs.

Life — a risky business

photo by Timothy Stark

Here it is the end of 2015 and I’m still here — and so are you. Have you ever thought about how risky life is and what a miracle it is so many of us reach seniority? Dangers lurk at every turn. It’s a wonder any of us survive childhood, let alone make it to old age.

What with nature’s furies — hurricanes, tornadoes,

billions of bacilli and viruses

volcanoes, floods and storms; the billions of bacilli and viruses that thrive around, on and in us; man-made hazards such as explosives, weapons of war, and so many, many guns, it’s amazing we survive at all.

I can’t drive a block without imagining all the mishaps which can occur. I see myself hitting one of those silly pedestrians dressed all in black, concentrating on a cellphone while crossing the street right in front of my car on a dark, rainy night. What’s if you’re the designated driver when it is ordained that things will go very wrong? Then, there are also those accidents with buses, trains and planes to think about.

Dangers lurk at every turn

Every time I step onto my balcony I imagine it collapsing under me and tumbling down three floors to the cement patio below. I think about these things. I think about these things while normal people go about just living their lives. They don’t have to worry. I’m busy worrying for them.

Did you know your chances of dying in an earthquake are one in 148,756? But how do you know that ONE won’t be you? And if you ARE that one, how reassuring are these calculations? The average number of dog homicides is about 31 per year (in the U.S.) I no longer have a dog, but I know people who do. Recently a local puppy bit my finger. Does this increase my risk in the future?

Does this increase my risk?

Statistically speaking, they say occupations with high risks of injury are truckers and coal miners. Those with the least are supposedly stockbrokers, lawyers and insurance executives. I don’t know about stockbrokers, but lawyers could sue the hell out of anyone responsible for their injuries, and one would hope insurance executives, at the very least, have good coverage.

They don’t even mention retired folk like me, which leads me to think we’re in real trouble. Why else would they leave us out? It’s a plot to make us feel at ease while at every turn they’re after us — and with good reason.

The fatality rate for elevator rides (which total about 18 billion trips each year), is 0.00000015%. My building has one. I use it every day. The younger individuals living on my floor avoid it and usually take the stairs. Do they know something I don’t???

As you can see, I’m not neurotic.

Currently, I’ve begun thinking about the chances of my being hit by a celestial body. I have a one in 150 trillion chance of this happening. I will not allow myself to become a nervous wreck thinking about it. No, I won’t. I won’t! As you can see. I’m not neurotic.

Happy New Year everyone.