How we sometime fool ourselves

In France, the Mt. Blanc can be a serial killer; by some estimates, 100 people lose their lives each year climbing around that mountain. So, the day I read that two French climbers had died a few weeks ago, I wasn't at all surprised, even when I saw the name of one of them, François Deffert.

The name hailed from my French hometown, but I assumed it was someone else who came from some other place. Besides, the ones I would have known bearing that name weren't certified mountain guide like this one was purported to be. It's only yesterday that I learned that this 53 old man used to be living 250 yards from my home and was indeed my neighbor until he was almost a teenager.

Yet, I had no idea that he liked mountaineering and that he had become, later in life, a mountain-guide. This shows how often times, our own preconceived ideas can mislead us. RIP François!