According to various members of her family, a slight fall breeze has triggered a reminiscence in local grandmother Bethany Wallace, transporting her back to a time when she faced incredible danger during a horrific wind turbine accident.
“Whenever I feel that cool wind across my face, it’s like I’m right back there,” she said to her 6 year-old grandson, Jim, as the family strolled through a local park on a weekend in early November.
“It was the last time I would ever set foot into a large industrial wind turbine chamber,” she said.
“Well, apart from a few times in the early 90s.”
Bethany’s husband, Gary, says that his wife has always been nostalgic, so it may only take a small cue for her mind to retrieve images and details from that incident.
“She has quite a memory. She can recount that experience from start to end, perfectly, describing in graphic detail all of the horrible, horrible things that took place that day,” he said.
“From the sound of the initial gas explosion that caused the large belt to collapse, to the screams of terror as the paramedics carried the victims to the ambulances, all it takes is a soft wind or the sound of a large fan malfunctioning and she is right back there again.”
Bethany says that the memory reminds her of how times have changed since that fateful day.
“It was a simpler time, back then. You didn’t have to worry about far off problems like war and the economy. It was just you and the debris, flying around in a hellish whirlwind of danger,” she said, as her eyes widened and her gaze drifted toward the horizon.
“They were difficult, traumatic times, but simpler nonetheless.”
Despite the incident following her through the years, Bethany says she does not know why she continues to dwell on it to this day.
“I really don’t know why I’m so sensitive to it. Maybe my brain just works kind of funny. Or maybe I secretly believe the accident was my fault because I was the safety inspector at the turbine, and forgot to check the fuel gauges that morning,” she said as she gradually softened her voice, in effect making the end of that sentence almost impossible to hear.
“Or maybe I’m just getting old,” she said with a chuckle.
Following the walk, family members reported that Bethany went to sit on the back porch for the remainder of the afternoon, and the kids were instructed that Grandma needs some time to herself for a while.
Note: This article is satirical and does not reflect factual reporting.