Truth is, despite all our purposeful care, that eternity is not more than a long moment away for a million reasons we never expect. That bite of steak, not quite chewed after some fine wine and doesn’t make it quite past the epiglottis. A healthy bite of apple, not quite chewed and stuck. A lifetime of stress, or butter, and the arterial clog or stroke that drops-in unannounced. There’s the young or inattentive or drunk/stoned driver on your side of a blind curve. The fall from a ladder while gutters are cleaned. What was that show some years ago ... “A Thousand Ways to Die,” or something close?
There is irony in some death, the valiant (if often vain) effort by rescuers in field or facility to thwart the Grim Reaper and minimize his damage. We all will dance with the SOB one day. The goal is not paranoia which robs life of joy, but best practice and care for self, family and friend in those routine things we do daily.
Have you learned how to clear an airway? Do you (your spouse, age-appropriate children) know CPR? How to control serious bleeding? It generally costs nothing, or something minimal, to learn. Unless you are exceptionally lucky, you or someone you love will be dead before the professionals arrive to clear the airway, start CPR or control a serious bleed.
A flashlight ... a bite of food ... a wobbly stool ... be careful doing the things you know well and generally to which we give little thought.
Yep, been that kind of day