Dear Near Miss

Dear Near Miss or Miss Near, an open letter: Dear Miss: I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart, not a particularly significant place with my good state of health, but of course you already know that. As you are also aware, the other day, I had a near miss, forgive the pun intended. It was the day that, in another scenario, I could have died. But thanks to you, it wasn't my turn. The whole matter was much like the house that Jack built, actually, in reflection. It was a bright and sunny winter day when the wind to a high degree, blew down a large cedar tree of more than one hundred feet tall, and rotund. You could put it another way, and I shall. It happened on a sunny day that the wind blew, that uprooted the tree,  that felled it on the power line, that landed on the pavement, that caused a spark, that started a fire,  that melted the tar, that covered the gas line, that opened a hole in it, that threatened the entire block of town houses, condos and elderly home, that could have, but didn't, blow them all to kingdom come. Yours very sincerely, a single old lady who saw it all from her patio on the same street. This is a true tale. Until I had my cold shower (see a former blog) I didn't know the entire story even though the flashing lights and helmeted service folk were out there blocking off the avenue as bystanders stood about googling. The scary part is, that no one in the building where I lived, was entirely aware of the event. We knew that the power flickered a bit and the gas was off and we heard something go bang, earlier on, but being in the middle of a city, it wasn't cause to panic. We hear sirens and loud noises frequently including the incessant whistle on the rail line that runs dirty US coal through our pretty city by the sea. The situation made me think of how many times we all have these near misses, and afterward, think about how fortunate we are to have missed them. They are the times, we didn't take the plane or ferry or bus or train but learned later that if we had, we just might not be around to be remarking about it. We say things like "c'est la vie" here in Canada. Or "that's life" in the US.  But it is true that life presents us challenges right from the get go. Birth alone is a big chance for accident, even in this day of high tech everything. And think of the times we have passed a semi rig trailer that swung across the lanes going the other way and piled up numerous  vehicles strewn about the highway. Or the bridge in our area, that was swept away with a few unlucky cars the day we left home late and saw the sign. Or the storm that hit the day after our motor boating trip, the one that saw many thrown into cold waters never to be seen again. And then there are too many of our dearest people who woke up one day and found they had cancerous tumors, and are now gone. How very happy and lucky and scary it is, to read with sadness, that, for us, it was only a near miss.