I got started thinking about sinkholes the other night, and now I just keep on thinking about them. They fascinate me for some reason. 

The main thing that I keep on coming back to is that I don’t know how you could avoid a sinkhole.  I mean, if the ground is going to fall out from under your toes—yikes.

Is there anything else like that?  Something that is so completely beyond all human control?

Sure, you could get hit by a car and never see it coming, but that is still dependent on the actions of another person.

I suppose you could get hit by lightning, but generally you should have the wherewithal to see a bad storm brewing and find some shelter.

You could get diagnosed with a horrible disease, but at least you can consult with your doctors and come up with a plan to try to fight it.

But if the earth opens up underneath you, and you fall into the abyss, I don’t think there’s anything you can do.

And there isn’t anything you could’ve done to see it coming.

And there isn’t anything anyone else could’ve done to stop it from happening.

Come to think of it, it reminds me of one of my favorite books–The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier.  It’s almost exactly like that.  I remember the first time I read that book: all in one sitting, August of 2005, weeping uncontrollably through about half of it.

But that’s neither here nor there.

Sinkholes, on the other hand, could be either Here or There.  Or both.

Watch where you walk.

(Or don’t, since there’s nothing you could do anyway).