Thisclose To Disaster

by Ruth Ann Harnisch on 01/30/10 at 2:05 am

Day 30

See the quarter?

Take a good look at that photo. There’s a quarter to the right of the huge chunk of ice. I didn’t weigh the ice, but it’s about six inches in diameter, and it’s solid.

It was part of a very big icicle that fell from an overhang and grazed a member of my family.

No harm done, except to the lightness of the mood. But a couple of inches to the left or right and I’d be attending another funeral.

Later in the day another member of my family took a big fall on the ski slope – got some good air, according to an eyewitness – and came down hard, with a huge head bang. Last year that person bought a helmet for the first time in a lifetime on skis. Sonny Bono , Natasha Richardson – you did not die in vain. Because of your tragic accidents, this one ended with a bruised ego.

When I was a newscaster, I was constantly exposed to freakish death and disaster. I know that people don’t wake up in the morning expecting the car wreck, the crazed shooter, or the random chunk of ice. And I know these tragedies befall unsuspecting people every day.

I’m very grateful that disaster didn’t strike my family today. And I’m grateful for the close calls, strange as that may sound. It makes me especially mindful of how precious people are, and that everything can change in an instant.