This is mostly my way of "working through things" and clarifying thoughts. I do not desire to draw attention to myself or family (and have no reason to, we are not that "close" to this) OR make this "all about me/us". I will edit soon and may even delete if it's only a distraction or in bad taste etc.
I DO want to offer yet another example of why FIRE/FI/RE whatever is so important to many of us, even if we can't put it into words... In short, life is finite and depending on your beliefs, may be a "one and done" type of situation, so, don't waste it... (I'm trying to put that into some type of "it's the economy dummy" context).
If you have not been following the news (I personally skip about 98% of it, often getting tidbits from podcasts etc. but not much else) you might be familiar with the Virginia Beach, VA shooting, a quick google search will assist if you've heard nothing about it.
My family was not touched by this event except for the usual thoughts/feelings that occur after such a thing (We didn't lose anyone close nor did we know anyone lost etc...). However, I think humans always seek reasons and attempt to connect things to ourselves, we seek out that way in which we relate to XXX or YYY (which is why those with little connection attend remembrances, write posts on message boards etc.. I understand that more fully now...).
In this case, we are about 15 minutes from where this occurred and, our family was on the grounds three nights prior to the event, attending a school board meeting. In addition, when retiring from the military about 18 months ago, I applied for a position within the offices where this occurred. It is very likely that I interacted with some of the individuals who lost their lives during that process AND, had I accepted the offer, could have been there the day it happened.
Talking about this with the SO, it provides a stark example of why FIRE is so powerful, being able to focus on "things that matter" (To me) ensures that I'm not in a job/at a location that I don't want to be. If I HAD been in that office the day this occurred, it would have been by CHOICE, not by need, which would have made it easier for my family etc... I hope that some of those impacted were in the same boat, there because they loved the work, the team, the location etc. and were not there because they HAD to be, but I suspect some of them probably fall into that category (Must be there VS decide to be there).
Bottom line, FI is important for many reasons, but, as many others have said, the power of choice should never be forgotten. In this case, it MAY have saved my life (probability = very low, but it's not zero).
Adding a link to bios on those who were lost, seems like a small way to recognize the situation.
Regards,
Tim
https://pilotonline.com/news/local/virginia-beach-mass-shooting/article_1b533ea8-846d-11e9-a728-df38353a0516.html