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Lessening Risks
by
Pat Gluck
4 April 2003
It's, indeed, a shame that at my age I don't travel
the world to see exotic sights and smell exotic
aromas.
This is because I refuse to get on a plane, train, or boat. My credo, in the ol' "twilight years", is to LESSEN THE RISK in all things I do. If my car won't take me, I ain't goin'!
Now, believe me, I'm fully aware of all those statistics about 'this' being safer than driving, and 'that' not nearly as dangerous as driving, etc. That might well be, but being upstairs at 35,000 feet depending on a couple of engines that a mechanic with a hangover, on a Monday morning, checked out before he passed out, doesn't make the 'calming thought' list of mine.
And so, too, is riding on an Amtrak, high up in the mountains, knowing that some schmuck with a grudge against humanity may have just taken out ten yards of track as we make the next bend.
As to boarding a cruise ship and putting myself in the hands of its crew whom I haven't the faintest idea as to their competency, forget it! Anything is possible at sea; I know that having 'sailed the seven' for four years. A carelessly thrown match, a spark from a piece of machinery, grease from the kitchen (galley), or a breakdown of the engines during a storm, all would precede chaos! When the schlazen hits the fan, cool thinking goes the way of the wind and panic is added to the pandemonium. All this is merely a prelude to a smorgasbord for the sharks!
So, you
'jet-setters' out there can have all your color
photographs from the fancy travels you've made. As
for me, cautious as 80 years of living has made me,
"Lots of Luck"!!!
Pat Gluck (A Survivor!)
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