Better than chances of winning Powerball

[winterkoninkje]

Between 18.27 and 18.32 PST yours truly was struck by a car while crossing SW Harrison at 4th Avenue. Worry not, no major damage, but let this be a lesson. Bless not every day, but every minute of your life. Let every conversation end as it were your last, because it will be.

Comments

[paracelsus626.livejournal.com]

Just one more reason that being such a large fellow has probably been advantageous to you...unless the you were a target...but truly, I am glad to hear that you escaped unscathed.

[winterkoninkje.livejournal.com]

Uninjured but not entirely unscathed. There's nothing quite like getting in touch with your own mortality. I heard the screech of breaks locking what seemed precisely one second before it happened. It was dark, it was raining, the reflective stripe down my backpack --the only bit of visible attire that wasn't black-- was facing away from him as with the metal buttons. Bright white walk sign or no, if he didn't see me when he did, things could've been much worse. One second is a very long time.

Later, when the void of response had started to pass, I got to thinking of how it could've been, about my signoff message on irc before heading to class, about the discussion I had with Adam today re B-trees, about the discussion with Dr York about one potential topic for my thesis, a discussion which had just ended one minute before as he left to catch his bus home and I to catch mine. I thought how those last words would have held up were the worst to transpire. I think, banal as they may be, that I would not have minded those to be parting words.

Again, don't live as if every day were your last because there's one you won't finish. Live for the minutes. Make every conversation in passing as if those are your last words before you have one minute to reflect and one second to consider. What's the Yiddish saying? the one about never ending a conversation angry? These are good words.