As those of you who follow me on Twitter know, we were in Scotland for the past three days.
We stayed in Oban, a pleasant little harbor town that connects to the Treshnish and Hebrides Isles, and we went to see Lunga, Staffa, and Iona. There will be many posts about this trip over the week.
Something tragic occurred while we were on Staffa, though, and while it didn't happen to us and we were over a ridge when it happened, we heard the scream of a woman watching her husband slip and fall to his death.
Standing and watching the aftermath, there was no way to escape the thoughts that come flooding after a tragedy like this. There are so many things that went through my head: retrospection ("I slipped on the steep slope on Lunga..." "I just walked over that same path..."), a flood of emotion ("What if that had been Paul that fell..." "That man got off the boat to see Staffa, never knowing this was it for him..."), and the gut-wrenching thought of the man's wife having to travel back home, alone, and continue her life with such an abrupt change.
All that is to tell you why I've picked today's quote out of my old notebook.
Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.
Michael Landon
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| Seagulls at Iona |
Oh my goodness, that is so, so, horrible :(
ReplyDeletewhoa. that's just horrible, for everyone. :(
ReplyDeleteMy original thought, though, was: My great grandma was named Iona. :)
Looking forward to the posts of Scotland!
Glad you guys got back safely x
ReplyDeleteWhoa! I started off reading this all "Ooo! I love Oban!!" and was totally caught off guard by your story! So sorry you had to see that - how tragic :/
ReplyDeleteWow, Gesci. I can't imagine hearing that and knowing what had happened. It must bring so much emotion. The Michael Landon quote is so fitting. x
ReplyDeleteOh, my gosh. My heart sank reading this. I feel for that woman. Tragedy is bad enough, but for it to happen while on vacation must be excruciating. :-(
ReplyDelete