Those with a more optimistic outlook considered the near-death experience a wakeup call. They took chances they might not have taken otherwise. They felt as though they had been given a unique gift of life. Bob Reber, who was on the flight with his wife Gwen and who had been a bit of a penny pincher before TWA 841, now didn’t think twice about making a large purchase. “You just never know when all of a sudden, poof! And it’s all over,” Bob commented to Minneapolis writer Buzz Bissinger.
