What scared you enough to make you stop and take notice?

We lived in a house across the road and about 60 - 80 feet from the railroad tracks. During the day you would see and hear commuter trains at night it was freight trains. Aftere awhile you got used to it, so much so if the 3a.m. Freight train did not roll by you woke up. One evening we were having dinner when we heard the screeching of train wheels braking. The screeching lasted about 9 full seconds during which time my wife grabed the baby and I picked her up (baby and all) and rushed to the back door of the house which was "away" from the train tracks. Outside the screeching wheels sounds turned to crunching and sliding medal. It took some time but in the end 8 cars of a twin engine freight train lay in a perfectly staight line along the road in front of our house. No damage to our house and no one was hurt. Clean up took weeks. All eight cars were loaded to the hilt with coal.

Tornado!

House at the end of street gone!

The worse sound I've ever heard. We have this kind of weather often but never this close. We only had wind damage.

I am a natural chicken so you know.... I could answer this question til the cows come home! Lol! Most of my problem is when I let my mind run a muck. So we decide we are gonna go to a lake to have some fun and cool off about 6 weeks ago. I decided to look up which lake was the cleanest out of the two we live by. BIG mistake! Cuz one thing led to another and before I know it I have looked up deaths of both lakes and of course the ONE I fixate on was an 8 year old boy who caught an ameba from one of the lakes and it traveled to his brain and he died. Now it didn't matter that the report was dated about 10 years ago or that he had a compromised immune system. It did not matter that the report said the child went into the lake numerous times that summer or that it really couldn't be proven that the rare ameba came from the lake waters..... So I looked up the medical term and how it is caught and what kind of waters, environment, age groups, race, if there has ever been any survivors. Somewhere in the mess of info I stumbled across I read "deadly toxin from blue algae" so I remembered the one lake did not have algae. That's the one we went to. Sure enough as I get in MOSS attacks my feet! Everywhere I turned there was green moss looking stuff! I am freaking out cuz my family ran in first! Get out of the LAKE I wanted to scream! After awhile I finally calm down and was begged by my family " trust and have a little fun mom!" Just as I notice a flash in the horizon. I waited in the water wondering what the flash was..... Another flash! Lighting! Now I am not the smartest of creatures but ummm I am wise enough to know that electricity and water do NOT mix! I swear we are dead as I am screaming for everyone to get put of the water! My husband says "calm down. It's not even close to us. Only if it gets closer should we be concerned." And I said "sure you all are faster swimmers then me! It will get me first anyways while you all are already out!" Lolololol! I use to go to this lake all the time when I was a kid. Never did I see lightening. I know it was just because I scared myself in the first place with the ameba story and moss!

I was on holiday in Corfu.

I was 52.

I was walking next to my son, he was 15.

We got to a hill. Halfway up I had to stop. The pain in my chest was overwhelming.

"What's wrong dad? Are you OK?

I stopped smoking that night forever.

I realized that actually, I was not immortal.

I'm going to die someday in the next few years. I'd like a bit more control about when that might be.