I can't recall a specific time, because I've lost track of the amount of times, that my gut has informed me that danger was ahead. The funny thing is that danger seems so simple. Maybe that's why we're not always satisfied to trust the siren. But these people can explain why we should.
to the hospital...
sick emergency room GIF by Brimstone (The Grindhouse Radio, Hound Comics)GiphyHad a weird feeling something was seriously wrong with me when I stood up and almost passed out at a big football game.
We left the stadium and went to the ER. Turns out my appendix was ruptured and I needed surgery ASAP. I had been having stomach pain prior to this but brushed it off as digestion problems. Good thing I went!
The Agreement
Few years ago went on a trip to Cuba and Mexico. Last minute decided to stay longer in Havana despite mess that Hurricane Irma has left behind (few days without electricity was actually oddly amazing). We were supposed to be flying to Mexico City. Our Mexico City Airbnb building collapsed during an earthquake. There was no logical reason behind our decision about staying. I just proposed it and my partner agreed. Crazy.
Jeepney
I was travelling in the Philippines in Northern Luzon (that's the part always hit hard by typhoons). It was just the beginning of rainy season.
I was in Banaue and was planning to go up north to Sagada the next day, Saturday. The lonely planet writes about this route as "The scariest road in the world", it's solid mountain on one side, and deep deep deep on the other.
There was a Jeepney scheduled in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Everyone who knows me knows, that I'm not a morning person and if there is a later option, I'm definitely taking this one. On a whim the night before I decided to leave earlier and take the 8am Jeep. Super out of character for me and I'm still not sure why I did it.
A few days later, on another bus, I chatted with this nice lady and she asked me what places in the Philippines I've been to so far. And she says OMG have you heard about the Jeepney accident on Saturday afternoon on the road from Banaue to Sagada??
So apparently the Jeepney I planned to take came upon a mountain slide lost control and went down the side of the mountain. 10 people died, no one survived.
Glass...
choking i love lucy GIF by HULUGiphyI was drinking and felt something stick in the back of my throat.
I almost forced it down because it was really far back and awkward to cough up, but I decided to spit it out anyways.
It was a shard of glass from the bottle I was drinking out of. It still creeps me out to think about even years later because I REALLY was just going to swallow it.
In Canada...
While fishing on a large lake in Canada, we were a little more than halfway across when the wind really started picking up and a storm started rolling in. I had the choice to turn back, or head to an island with a bay.
I decided to head for the bay and just as we reached the calmer water we looked behind us and the storm had gotten worse.
We were in an aluminium boat, and if we had chosen to head back, 3 of us would have drowned, no doubt in my mind. We were already taking on water and were completely drenched when we beached on the island.
Once the storm abated, we made the journey back and it still took 4 hours in high wind for a normally half hour boat trip. Warming up in the truck was the best feeling in the world after that.
Yeah, that is either a ton of miracles, coincidences or truth. Luck does seem to play a hand in survival, but luck is also intuitive. And why is it the stomach seems to know before the brain.
Don't Jump!!
When I was 18 I left for some missions group thing for my gap year, this took place on an island in central America. Earlier that night, everyone had been swimming off the dock, but I didn't want to because of all the jellyfish. As this a group of guys fresh out of high school, this decision earned me the title of "huge sissy".
Later that night, I go back down to the docks, just thinking about stuff. Because I want to be alone, obviously I creeped out of the house without telling anyone. I see the water and think "While no one is around to judge me, I should get over my fear, quit being a sissy, and jump in the water." But for some reason I hesitate, and shine my flashlight on the spot I want to jump to.
There's this weird, clear, worm looking thing I've never seen before. It's not exactly swimming, it's like twitching erratically and gently moving with the water. I'm wondering what the hell it is, when I look around more and see a box jelly with a missing tentacle, and the tentacles look exactly like the "worm."
The box jellies there weren't like the kinds in Australia where you get hit and you're dead, but these were apparently bad enough to send you into shock with the pain, and if I had been in water, with no one else around to find me, there's a very good chance I would've drowned if I just jumped in without checking.
Going 85...
Was driving at the speed limit of 70mph on a highway that I drove daily to go home from work. This particular day, there was an event downtown that had the traffic completely stopped for miles. There was an S bend in the road though, so you couldn't tell until you were nearly on top of it.
I tried to brake, but nothing happened. My brain broke and I kept slamming on the brake pedal, but nothing was happening, and I was in the left lane of a four lane highway with very little time to spare before I nearly hit the wall of cars in front of me. Left shoulder of the road was barely wide enough for a bike, and cars were coming up the on-ramp on the right side.
I noticed a small gap in between the cars on the on-ramp, but it was in front of me, so I actually sped up to sneak through that gap and onto the grass beside the highway. At one point, I was over 85mph knowing I had no brakes in order to get through that gap. I barely made it, and eventually slowed to a stop on the grass. I called my friends to come help, and when they showed up 45 minutes later, I was still clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles and staring straight ahead. It's a miracle that I walked away without a scratch.
Just Run
I was walking with a friend back to his house and I had that "something don't feel right". I noticed some dudes walking around in Hoodies all with their hands in their pockets. Now I'm ain't an idiot I know what's gonna happen. It took some time trying to subtly convince my friend to walk a different path but we eventually did and got to his house. Literally next morning on the news a massive gang shoot-out happened on the same street we were passing leaving 4 people dead.
Skip Dinner
Say Word Lol GIF by Desus & MeroGiphyMid-1990s. Traveled to northern New Jersey with a friend from college. It was his hometown. We had plans to visit New York city and see a former roommate who graduated the year before (friend 2).
Well, apparently Friend 2 dabbled in low-level organized crime since his last years in college. We had some knowledge of this but were not involved. He invited us to a an associate's house with plans to go out afterward. We declined. Not our scene. In fact, both of us had applied to law school. I planned to pursue a career in federal law enforcement thereafter. We both wanted distance from that nonsense.
We tried the following day to reach our friend 2 for a low-key lunch before heading out of town. No answer. Well, local police found his body two days later, along with 2 other bodies, at the house to which he invited us. He was murdered at the meeting/social situation. Could have been us too.
I knew that was bad news.
What have we learned? We're more in tune than we believe. How could we not be? We're all connected. And we're connected to the unknown. The body is on alert. Follow the signals.
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.