If today was your last day...

"Each day's a gift and not a given right"

About 10 years ago, I worked with a young apprentice called Michael. Great guy, 21 handsome, six foot tall and built like a brick sh.. Well He was muscular :)  He was training to become an electrical engineer, but at night and weekends he was a "hobby bobby", A special constable in the police force. He took a lot of aggro for the police thing but he stuck with it and said one day he was going to be a policeman. And you know what, I believed him.

A few months later he came in and told me that he was leaving to become a full time policeman. We had a surprise party for him that weekend, his fiancee came along and we all got drunk and took the piss out of the new copper. Six months later he was dead. A motorbike accident.

"Would you live each moment like your last"

It hit me hard, very, very hard. A young guy with his whole life in front of him, family, friends, a woman that he proposed to a year earlier? What a fucking waste. It took me a while to get over it, but I did and it made me revaluate my life a little. It was pushed to the back of my mind, until yesterday.

"Leave old pictures in the past"

I left the gym and was heading home, just about to cross the road. I saw a white car slowly edge over the white line in the middle of the road. Not enough to be in the way of the cars on the other side of the road, but enough for the oncoming motorbike to be unable to get out of  the way. The next few minutes seemed to go by in slow motion. The bike hit the side of the car, the rider was catapulted over the bonnet, somersaulted through the air and landed several feet away on the road on the other side of the car.

I've done emergency first aid and the first thing we were taught was "Evaluate the area for danger before putting yourself in any situation" I took that in and will always remember it. Yep, that's right, I ran into the road like an idiot to get to the biker, causing an oncoming car to swerve and nearly caused another accident.

"Every second counts 'cos there's no second try"

 I reached the biker as he was trying to get his helmet off. I grabbed his hands and told him to keep it on. Neck injuries are a bastard, and can really fuck you up. Trust me on that one OK.  So I chatted to him to take his mind off the pain  and keep him company. We talked about his girlfriend (it was her birthday) what he did, football, girls, anything really just to keep him occupied. A little while later, the ambulance arrived and took him away. Then the police arrived and took me away. Witness statements and whatnot.

"Live it like you're never living twice"

Which brings me to today. I received a phone call about an hour ago from the police station. Someone related to the injured biker "Would like to talk to you"

"um yeah, Ok"

The phone was passed across and a deep voice came on the line. It was the young bikers Dad. He thanked me for staying with his son  and making sure he was OK until the ambulance arrived. He was a little emotional, but told me his son was going to be fine, just a broken leg. I will never forget that call as long as I live, nor the emotion in that man's voice.

So just incase you haven't realised it yet. Let me spell it out for you. This is it, you only get one shot at life. Make the best of it. It's not a rehearsal, it's the real thing. You can't get to 40 and suddenly decide you want to try it again. Enjoy your life, live every day like it's your last. Take chances and have fun. But whatever you do, enjoy it!

Lyrics from "If today was your last day" Nickelback.