Get off the tracks, you idiot
"Man Struck By Train in Decatur"
That was a headline this morning in the Decatur Daily. Being the callous person I seem to have been of late, all I could think when I read the story was, "What is wrong with you that you can get hit by a train?" They're loud. In town, they move relatively slow. They're big, easy to see. Yet some poor soul managed to get hit by one. On foot. Fortunately, he's alive but in very critical condition...and - assuming he survives - once all the prayers and concern for his safety and health have passed, I'm sure he'll be the subject of a jab or two from friends (assuming he has them) like, "Hey, buddy, didn't you see that train coming?" Either that or he'll have a psychotic episode every time he hears a train horn in the distance...
Seriously, I'm not that callous. I hope the guy survives...I really do.
But maybe it's not so stupid of a thing to make fun of, though. Metaphorically, I've been hit by several 'trains' in my life that I should've seen coming. I have to laugh at my own stupidity at not being able to avoid them.
In so many circumstances, I'm the kind of person who just stands on the tracks praying the train won't hit me, then...BAM!...I'm a skid mark on the tracks. In my previous job, I held out until the last minute. "Get off the tracks!" people warned me (a lot of my friends/co-workers bailed out long before I did), but I held on tight, falsely convinced things would get better if I just stayed put and toughed it out. I used to think my friends admired my commitment and 'die-hard' tenacity to stick with it. But, in the end, my friends just stared on in disbelief wondering, "What the *&%$ is wrong with him?"
BLAM!
I got hit. And I felt so stupid when it happened. I'd seen the warning signs for years.
Oh, well. Now I'm here. Life is good. I could've done without the 3+ year time spent in spiritual traction thanks to the train impact, but oh well. Being a little more aware of trains than I used to be, I don't ignore the warning horn and the flashing red lights any more.
Remember the scene in "Fried Green Tomatoes" where that guy got killed on the tracks when his foot got caught between the rails? (Ironically, I've walked along those very tracks in Juliette, GA where that movie was filmed). Maybe I remember that scene because it was the closest thing to an 'action' sequence in that movie. Or remember the scene in "Stand By Me" where they were running from the train on the bridge? There's a moral here...one of those 'life lessons' that's so obvious we assume we know to follow it, but don't: "Don't play on the tracks."
That was a headline this morning in the Decatur Daily. Being the callous person I seem to have been of late, all I could think when I read the story was, "What is wrong with you that you can get hit by a train?" They're loud. In town, they move relatively slow. They're big, easy to see. Yet some poor soul managed to get hit by one. On foot. Fortunately, he's alive but in very critical condition...and - assuming he survives - once all the prayers and concern for his safety and health have passed, I'm sure he'll be the subject of a jab or two from friends (assuming he has them) like, "Hey, buddy, didn't you see that train coming?" Either that or he'll have a psychotic episode every time he hears a train horn in the distance...
Seriously, I'm not that callous. I hope the guy survives...I really do.
But maybe it's not so stupid of a thing to make fun of, though. Metaphorically, I've been hit by several 'trains' in my life that I should've seen coming. I have to laugh at my own stupidity at not being able to avoid them.
In so many circumstances, I'm the kind of person who just stands on the tracks praying the train won't hit me, then...BAM!...I'm a skid mark on the tracks. In my previous job, I held out until the last minute. "Get off the tracks!" people warned me (a lot of my friends/co-workers bailed out long before I did), but I held on tight, falsely convinced things would get better if I just stayed put and toughed it out. I used to think my friends admired my commitment and 'die-hard' tenacity to stick with it. But, in the end, my friends just stared on in disbelief wondering, "What the *&%$ is wrong with him?"
BLAM!
I got hit. And I felt so stupid when it happened. I'd seen the warning signs for years.
Oh, well. Now I'm here. Life is good. I could've done without the 3+ year time spent in spiritual traction thanks to the train impact, but oh well. Being a little more aware of trains than I used to be, I don't ignore the warning horn and the flashing red lights any more.
Remember the scene in "Fried Green Tomatoes" where that guy got killed on the tracks when his foot got caught between the rails? (Ironically, I've walked along those very tracks in Juliette, GA where that movie was filmed). Maybe I remember that scene because it was the closest thing to an 'action' sequence in that movie. Or remember the scene in "Stand By Me" where they were running from the train on the bridge? There's a moral here...one of those 'life lessons' that's so obvious we assume we know to follow it, but don't: "Don't play on the tracks."
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