near decapitation
11 years ago, i moved* out of the family home and into my own place. it was a decent-sized flat, but it was an utter shithole. the stairways stank of wee, many of the neighbours were smackheads and there were mice. the building itself was falling apart.
due to a strange mixture of coincidences involving the whereabouts of the block and its proximity to the local train station, the side of the block i lived in was like a permanent wind tunnel, without the tunnel. the sheer strength of the wind on that side had, after 38 years, pretty much trashed everyone's kitchen and living room (only the side ones)windows and, with the block due for demolition, new windows were not forthcoming.
one night, during a rather magnificent storm, my side window blew open. sighing, i stood on the couch and leaned out to grab the window. my waist was leaning on the sill, which meant that the upper half of my body was outside, getting wet. i grabbed the window by the frame, only to have it yanked out of my hands by a particularly violent gust. again i grabbed and again the window was snatched out of my hands. getting annoyed now, i leaned further out and got a better grip on the window's frame.
clinging tightly to the window, i hauled my sodden carcass back over the sill and into the warm, then shut the window and locked it.
literally 2 seconds after i closed the window, the ENTIRE window and frame from the flat two floors above went crashing past my window.
to say i almost shit myself would be putting it mildly. i knew the place was becoming dangerous, but i didn't think it was trying to kill me! if i'd taken another three or four seconds to close that window, there's a very good chance i'd have lost my head. i'm pretty sure it would have killed me, anyway.
i moved out not long afterwards.

*got kicked out
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 19 Aug 2010, 19:56, Reply)