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Think fast! And with deliberation: It just may save your life [1]

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Date: 2023-10-17  

Who hasn’t done dumb things? Guilty as charged.

One of the seemingly most ignorant involved a woman who apparently decided she wanted to tan herself, which people do. But, it is the way in which this person went about it that is what will raise more than a few eyebrows, I’m sure. She had been lying between the rails in an Oregon-based freight yard. How she came to pick that spot one can only speculate. I say that because as I learned from reading the news write-up about it, she managed to get struck by bars on the underside of the locomotives that rolled on the rails but above her apparently causing some head trauma. If she is still alive today (she was 36 years old at the time) then she count her blessings that she is still with us. The incident was reported in the Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard on Jul. 15, 1992 with the headline: “Sunbather hurt by locomotive.”

As an aside and relatedly, if you like watching hilarious acts of dumb and dumber stuff playing out, you may want to check out the movie “Defending Your Life,” featuring Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks. I’m still waiting to see: “Don’t Look Up,” quite coincidentally, also with Meryl Streep.

Too many of us today it would seem, that with our rushed lives, hectic schedules and so many us glued to our mobile devices, I hate to say it, but we’ve got our heads in the clouds. That’s a prescription for disaster. What we need to be thinking about more, I think, is paying closer attention to what we’re doing and what is going on around us.

I have three key policies or practices.

First, if someone calls and I don’t see on the screen the displayed words of Spam Caller or Telemarketer or if I don’t recognize the number, I just let it go to voicemail. If it’s important enough, whomever it is that called, will leave a message. Same is true of text. If it’s not a good time for me to respond, I’ll do so when it’s more convenient.

Secondly, I watch where I’m walking. It requires my being vigilant. People have been known to step off of curbs not realizing the curb was even there, or falling onto railway tracks from a station platform. Somewhat relatedly, there were two cases recently where drivers in getting gps information wound up driving down a boat ramp and into water. Again, heads in the clouds? You have to wonder.

And, lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I make the extra effort to try to think what it is I’m about to do before actually putting any action plan into play as my life may depend on it. I can’t emphasize that point enough.

And, with that thought fresh on readers’ minds, remember: safety first, last and always!

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