Is it possible that I could have killed my 85-year-old neighbor?

There is an old man that lives three doors down from me.  His name is Chuck, but my roommate calls him “The Drunk Old Man” because he is usually drunk and always old.

A couple of years ago Chuck fell down the stairs in our apartment complex because he was (a) over 80 (b) drunk and (c) carrying a 12-pack of beer so he couldn’t reach for the railing.  And the fall took a toll on him, and he stopped going out so often and stopped driving.

Well this past weekend I thought to myself as I was carrying my laundry down those same stairs, “I always thought that I would someday see the day when Chuck died, but since I’m moving I won’t be around when it happens.”

Or so I thought.

This morning Chuck fell down those stairs again–the paramedics had to give him CPR right there on the sidewalk in front of my apartment.  I don’t know if he’s okay.  Could I have selfishly willed him into dying just to fulfill another one of the items on my “things to do before you leave California” checklist?

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