March 18th – I well remember a piece of graffiti from 20 or
30 years ago that went something like;
“Think of the money that would have been saved if Steve
Austin had worn a seat-belt.”
Not gonna get into the detail of that, look him up on Wiki or
YouTube. It just occurred to me that the way things just happen sometimes
amazes and, if you think them through further, you can see how personal lives or world
history could have been drastically altered; sometimes for the better, sometimes
not. The set-up.
On this day in 1982 Blizzard of Oz
were on a U.S. Rhodes
refuses at first because of his fear of flying (key worry right there, Randy)
but then agrees along with one of the company’s wardrobe girls to take a short
flight as he wants to take some aerial photos. On a low pass (be VERY afraid of
pilots who get you on board then start to show off their flying skills) on a
low pass over the tour bus and with Rhodes taking photos, the plane’s wing
clips the bus roof and crashes in a fireball…the plane’s cargo could only be
identified by their dental records. Now, just consider that story
for a moment…
OK, all done?
Right.
Scary, isn't it? I mean, apart from
the awful events and the loss of a highly talented guitarist, look at the
events surrounding Mr. Osborne that followed that terrible crash. If that event
hadn't happened would we still have Ozzfest? He rejoined Black Sabbath and that
album last year…made that atrocious series of him and his family (OK, that one
we wouldn't miss…except maybe the puking bulldog) so, you can see how this pans
out.
Now, change of scene, time and
importance.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand in his
carriage in Sarajevo, changes his itinerary at the last minute and, much the
chagrin of his minders, goes off to visit the people wounded from a bomb
detonated earlier in the city (which was meant for him) set off by the Black
Hand Gang (yes, there really was one). Meanwhile, Gavrilo Princip, one of the
Black Hand Gang members is wandering about the town in a sulk having heard of
the recent bomb’s failure to kill Franzie. Instead of returning straight the
gang’s base as he was supposed to he goes off-piste ‘cos he’s hungry, goes into
a food shop, gets served, comes out, sees Franz Ferdinand coming out a hospital
he wasn’t supposed to be going to and Mr. Princip makes the most of the
opportunity and assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife… Roll-back.
How about, instead of being served
immediately and leaving the shop in time to commit a double murder, how about
the level of service in that shop was the same as it seems to be everywhere
else? How about Gavrilo Princip is held up in a queue of shoppers all being
very slowly attended to by a surly, underachieving till assistant and is not
out the shop in time to see Franz Ferdinand and wife leave the hospital and
drive home…? Outcome? No World War One! Except…if there hadn't been a W.W.1
then all those people wouldn’t have died, we wouldn't have had W.W.2 (the
replay of all replays) and very probably my mum wouldn't have been born and
then would never have met my dad and…? Hm…now, that’s some choice.
1) The pangs of hunger leading to an
on-the-spot decision being made to murder a member of the Austrian royal family
all leading to the loss of multi-millions of lives in two world wars and so
rearranging the human demographic of whole areas of the country or:
2) The move down south from
Lancashire by my grandfather after he'd been gassed a Ypres in WW1 and could no
longer work indoors at the cotton mill, which led to my mum being born close
enough for her and dad to meet up…and then me not being born…and then me going
on to support Black Sabbath in a band I was in in 60’s and then the loss of
pleasure I get from listening to their ‘Mob Rules’ album…but, if that had been
the case, you know, WW1, WW2, mum, dad, the whole birth thing, then I’d not
know I’d not been born ‘cos…well, I’d not be born…but, knowing what I know now,
would I prefer…?
Moral of the day; too much thinking
is a bad thing…
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