Listen up, I got a story to tell.

Life comes at you fast.

Last week, as I was commuting to work, one day turned into a life changing event for all involved. As most commuters, my headphones are my solitude and I wear them as if they’re velcroed (am I telling my age) to my head. Waiting on the platform I hear a scream over my podcast but people are always yelling and I’ve become immuned. My instincts turn me around and I see horror on this woman’s face.

As I scan the scene, I see this man pop up from the tracks and he takes off running. Now, the first thing I think is that I really hope this fool isn’t playing chicken with a train. The second thing is that he better hurry up and get off the tracks because the announcement had been made for the arriving train. The man makes it about 100 feet down the tracks and two good sameritans help him onto the platform. It’s apparent at that time that he’d fallen off the platform. By the way, I’m paranoid and figured out a long time ago to tuck and roll under the cantilevered edge.

The man is scarily nonchalant about this tragic incident even as his adrenaline subsides and the blood starts to rush into his face. He had a head laceration from the fall but still, he picked up his umbrella and walked towards the escalator into the building. As he’s going up the train comes rushing in.

This whole scene was about 30 seconds. Tell your friend and family that you love them. Life comes at you fast.