In the UK yesterday (23rd Jun 04) it was very, very windy. I fly power-kites and know the wind well and have deep respect for it. I could tell this wind was a touch on the strong side.
I had to go to work and caught the last train, got into the front carriage as it is the quietest. sat down and started reading the last 40 pages of my Peter f. Hamilton book.
After two stops of trying to filter out noisy co-passengers I was deep into my book, that's when it happened!
BANG!!! a massive booming, crunching smashing sound. The carriage shook and lifted violently, the sides of the carriage and windows were shaking and then the brakes went on.
Within about 2 seconds of the impact I had gone prone on the seat, fearing debris may come through the window. and watched the whole carriage do its dance of impact, people were shrieking further down the carriage and asking "what happend, what was that".

What it was, was a medium size tree had fallen onto the tracks and we had hit it full on.
The 2 seconds it took for me to react was too slow on reflection. A chunk of wood would have been through the window within the first second. But that aside.
All of the passengers and the driver were unharmed. The driver (and me) were quite shaken, being right at the point of impact.
What really upset me was the reaction of other passengers to the driver. They were more interested in getting home or complaining to an already shocked and upset driver.
I had to step in and explain to people to leave the driver be, sit down and wait. we waited for an hour for a regional head of Railtrack to come down to the site and supervise the train being reversed and cleared of tree.
Got to work 1 and a half hours late with a nice excuse.
Am reflecting on my good fortune and understanding the mechanics of chance that bit better.

Hi,

What a experience that must have been!

I'm so glad that you, the driver and other passengers were not harmed. Sometimes it's only with reflection we realize how a mere second could have resulted in other consequences. It sounds like chance was on your side that day. :O)

It made me think of my own experiences where luck was definately on my side.

I was once in an elevator which started to plumment to the ground (was on the 14th floor) and it miraculously stopped on the third floor, leaving myself and an old man in a heap on the floor. (shudders)

I was in a bank that was robbed and the bank robber pointed the shot gun at my stomach and made everyone lie down on the floor. (shudders)

I was driving on the freeway when inexpicably I changed lanes a mere seconds before a five car crash the left the vehicle that was behind me on the roof of the car in front(gasp that coulda been me!) shudders!

Just 3 wks ago I was out walking my dogs in a quiet neighborhood when someone yelled out their window..There's a vicious dog loose just around the corner from you! I thanked them and turned around to leave when I heard them yell.."Look out!". My back was turned so I look around to see a snarling dog with fangs showing, charging us..eeks couldn't run so I braced myself. He slammed right into Merlin my 10 month old pup and I tried to get him behind me while also trying to get my old 15 year old dog behind me as well. I finally let go of my old dog's leash as the dog was attacking the pup and did not seem interested in him. The old dog took up the challenge and fought his first fight trying to protect myself and "his brother". Finally what seemed like an eternity people came running out of their homes with all sorts of things and chased the dog off. Whew!

Oh wait a min did I say lucky?...on second thought perhaps with all these events..I may be a walking disaster? Ha Ha!

C

WOW! it seems that chance plays a large roll in your life. that's quite a set of nasty possibilities that you managed to pass on by.

I have been in a few other near misses, but mainly on an individual basis. This was quite a change in that it was shared with a few other people.

I have had a similar thing happen to me as your bank job incident but there was some violence involved and it was not in a bank but my own home.
I have had the wacko dog thing too. I have a set of routines to deal with derranged canines. Only ever been bitten once and the mutt in question was regretting that move for weeks. Now I know how to send them packing. The only thing that would scare me would be a pack of dogs. Then your in big trouble if they want to have a chat with you.

I guess theres a lot more luck floating around than we think!