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Ugh. I watched that linked video, and you could see the horror in that poor man.

I read an account of 9/11 by one of the responders in the World Trade Center, and he said the sound of bodies hitting the ground, which they heard quite frequently, was something he will never be able to wash out of his mind.

I imagine it is like soldiers in war who have smelled the combination of burnt flesh, rotting flesh, and blood, and say as long as they live, they would never forget it. Ever.

For most of us, it isn’t what we see, because many of us have seen a lot of terrible things. It is the other senses, what you hear, and what you smell that you often cannot control, because you can’t plug your ears or your nose in the same way that you can close your eyes, as that poor guy appeared to be doing.

God. I hope I never have to experience those things.

Myself, I had a guy on a bicycle run full into my car one time (he was riding in between lanes of opposing traffic as I pulled through the line of traffic to turn left) and even though I was looking to the right and he hit me on the left, the sound...the sound of that guy hitting my car...I knew EXACTLY what it was in the flash of an instant, even before the echo had left my mind, and as my head turned, I saw the guy and his bike, hurtling though the air across my windshield.

For weeks, even with my eyes wide open, I could hear that sound in my head and in front of my seeing eyes, see his body and his bike pirouetting in unision as if I were back in the car.

It was like a video clip, playing in ultra high definition, full vivid color, and super slow motion. I could see his bare legs and biking shorts, his biking shoes with the toe clips, his open mouth, a black empty hole wide open.

If I wasn't actively engaged in doing some...thing...it would play, unbidden and unwanted, with absolutely no loss of fidelity.

After a few months of this, it happened less frequently, then finally, after about six months, it stopped altogether, so when I consciously think of it, I can still kind of see it, but the colors and resolution have faded in my mind.

So I thought I was over it.

Then, sometime after that, I was relaxing, watching a series "Better Call Saul" which I had never seen, and just started watching it out of boredom. It was ate at night, dark. I was comfortable. And the main character hits a guy on a skateboard while he is driving slowly through a suburban neighborhood. The guy on a skateboard just appears out of nowhere and gets hit by the guy driving the car.

In that scene, the view is from inside the car looking through the windshield as I was in real life, and the sound...

When it happened in that on-screen scene, I was not expecting it, and my heart rate skyrocketed in a fraction of a second and began hammering. In a panic, yelling "F**K! F**K! F**K!" I fumbled frantically for the remote to shut the thing off, panting in terror.

OMG. Holy crap.

I was looking for a description of that scene, and saw that there was an actual clip of the scene posted on YouTube. I just watched it and it had the same, immediate effect on me, though not as strong because...I kind of expected it this time, but it made me audibly swear and I felt my heart begin to pound.

Here is the link: LINK: "Better Call Saul" skateboard scam scene

Holy crap. I guess I am not 100% over it. Oddly, I shut the television off so quickly and never watched that series again, that I thought it was a bicycle he hit, not a skateboard.

The visual was bad for me, but the sound...good God. My heart still feels a bit funny. And that was nearly three years ago.

When I explained this to someone, they told me that was clear PTSD, and I will say, I always believed in the terrible effect that had on men who had been in combat, but until I felt it, I had no idea how visceral that was. And I was astonished it still could have that effect on me.

So, yes. That poor man. He may never get over that.