And you thought your morning sucked ...
Traffic reports are a staple of morning radio here in the Very Large Metropolitan Area. We're not big believers in mass transit in this part of the country. I drive to work every morning; so does everybody else. When the traffic report comes on the radio, we listen.

Many were listening this morning at 7:58, when the local all-news station's traffic reporter was hovering over the city, rattling off the usual tie-ups during Traffic and Weather Together on the 8s. Something along the lines of "I-30 from Dalrock to Jim Miller is slow; construction on southbound I-35 is causing delays ... " Then, in the background, you hear a woman's voice say, "Oh my God." The traffic reporter continues, talking faster: "175 westbound to Pennsylvania; 635 westbound from 75 to 35 is just a mess AND WE ARE GOING DOWN."

The traffic helicopter, carrying reporters from three different broadcast outlets, made a "hard landing" on a busy street in the northern part of our city. After an engine failure, the pilot managed to put the chopper down, on its skids, in the street without hitting power lines or trees. In a further burst of serendipity, a red light had just stopped oncoming traffic seconds earlier. All four occupants walked away; one reporter was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The pilot was being lauded for some quick decision-making that turned a potential catastrophe into merely a "hard landing."

It's a pretty good bet that when I go to work tomorrow, nobody's life is going to hang in the balance based on any split-second decision I make. That's very humbling. It does, however, take some of the pressure off.