I have just dodged another bullet. At 71 years old this is no small matter. I have to be on my toes, concentrating to the max, and maybe I can edge my walker out of the way . . . as another bullet goes by. Maybe.
It’s sobering. But, nobody likes a whiner, so I keep it to myself.
During World War Two there was a famous Russian sniper named Zaytsev who killed 11 German snipers including a famous sniper master, Erwin König. It is well known that athletes at the top of their game experience time in slow motion and can see and and react more quickly. I wonder what König was thinking as he saw the bullet coming off the rifle of Zaytsez.
In that last few milliseconds of his life, watching the rotating bullet approach, in silence, as time stood still. What did he think? Was he happy to take the bullet, because he was dying for a cause he believed in? Did he wish he could have lived longer? Was he happy with what he had accomplished?
Seeing the bullet coming, and knowing the dreadful consequences . . . well, it’s a sobering thought.