A round bale, an obscure rocker and fate

A former rock and roll cellist was killed in Devon, England, when a 1,300-pound round bale of hay tumbled down a hill and stuck his van, causing it to collide with another van.

That is a pretty odd sentence when you think about it. First of all, how many rock and roll cellists could you name? Also, how many times do you hear of round bales of hay causing fatal auto collisions? Yet this, definitely, “freak” accident happened Friday to 62-year-old former Electric Light Orchestra member Mike Edwards.

One hears occasionally of an 18-wheeler losing its load and falling on to an automobile that is behind it. Not too long ago a woman was killed near where I live when some object came off a truck and hurled through her window while she driving on Interstate 10. Deer also frequently strike motor vehicles during the autumn “rut.” Thus, some freak accidents are not as random as they might seem.

But this would definitely qualify as a freak accident.

The ability to predict and prevent some unexplained event from happening is something human beings have been trying to tweak since, well, there have been human beings.

Right now it is raining, figuratively speaking, cats and dogs outside due to outer fringes of Tropical Storm Hermine. The storm’s “center” was located about 65 miles southwest of Austin last time I checked.  Austin is 210 miles away as the crow flies. It is thundering and weather forecasters said tornadoes were not out of the question for our area today. All of that is not totally unexpected.

When weather forecasters say there is a percentage of precipitation in an area they are talking about “the probability that precipitation will be reported at a certain location during a specified period of time,” according to the official National Weather Service definition.

Thankfully, weather experts can get within general areas in which a hurricane may make landfall when the storm is still a ways out in the sea. They cannot predict a pinpoint location with any real accuracy, though, until the storm is closer to hitting the beach. Scientists are still trying to better forecast when a tornado is going to strike.

Likewise, it is fun and at times financially fruitful when you make predictions on the weekly college or professional football games. But even though many who bet on and predict games may have advanced knowledge of the teams and players, it is all still a crapshoot.

Many pundits are forecasting that likely the Republicans will retake control of the U.S. House after the November elections. Many polls are showing more and more that the needed 39 or 40 GOP seats needed can be won. Pundits and so-called “political experts” also have history on their side.

It is a day after Labor Day though, and that is when many other experts and  historians say that the campaigns for November really begin. Surely, there are a lot of television ads and silliness that will be heaped upon the American voters between now and that time. Anything can happen which might change voters’ minds one way or the other.

What we call in these parts a “round bale” causing the death of who some have described as an “obscure” rock and roller  should remind us of how fickle is fate and the future.

Predict away. Though keep in mind that things do not always turn out as we expect.