Luck is... having a guardian-angel

My grandma (who lived through two world wars) always used to say: "Dear, you can count yourself rich if you have a) breath to breathe, b) a house to live in and c) enough to eat". How true, especially when reflecting on what happened yesterday.

If you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong moment, there are two options: either you die, or you survive. It's a question of luck.

I'm not truly religious but I do believe in guardian-angels. If you have one that does its duty, you can survive many a precarious situation.

About ten years ago, my sister and I sat on a plane that could explode in the air at any moment. Luckily for us, it didn't. Was it a frightful experience? To be honest, no. We were together. If we'd die there would be nobody left to mourn us. And what use is shitting your pants with fear? There is nothing you can do. We have been circling for hours, using us as much kerosine as possible. And when we landed - at the farthest off runway on Heathrow, London - it was lined with fire trucks and ambulances. The runway was covered in foam. Most people on the plane were white as sheets and were praying, but there was no panic.

In the moment something happens, you don't think, you act. It's a strange feeling. I once had an accident with my car, and tolled around on one of the main highways. I just sat in the car and waited for the instant the car would hit something. It didn't - the first time my guardian-angel was present. Even the car had no scratch. And when my sister was suffocating because something was stuck in her throat, I did not think either. I just gave her a good whack on the back and the piece of food (it was a pomme frites) landed on the kitchen floor. For once I was glad I'm rather heavy-handed...

Have you survived a situation that could have killed you?