How frightening would it be to realize your 22-month-old had fallen through an apartment window? Three stories off the ground?

We can’t imagine, but it is abundantly fair to say that David O’Connor is one lucky little boy. It is also fair to say his parents are greatly relieved that he suffered no more than a small bruise and a single scratch.

As any parent knows, toddlers are crafty and quick.

Little David O’Connor was supposed to be napping in his crib on Tuesday, but wiggled out and did what any curious child would do — headed for the summer day noises streaming through the window in Lewiston. He pushed out the screen, and fell.

His parents acted quickly to call for help, and emergency personnel expertly moved the child to the hospital, where he stayed overnight.

The toddler was named after his uncle, David Martin, killed in a car crash in 2002. Family and friends speculate that Uncle Martin may have been present, serving as the youngster’s guardian angel and safely guiding him to the ground.

Could be, but no one should depend on such a gracious and ethereal act.

If parents and caregivers of toddlers don’t have window guards installed, they should. There is even a window guard called “Guardian Angel.” Might not be as good as the real thing, but it will keep children from falling through screens.

David O’Connor was inexplicably and incredibly lucky. Too many children in this country are not, and die from their falls.   

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Last month, in a confusing three-option vote, the citizens of Rumford failed to approve spending for the Black Mountain of Maine Ski Resort. On Thursday night, selectmen rejected a citizens’ petition to revisit that vote, for procedural reasons.

Procedure is important, so the board is not to be faulted for following the rules.

In making its decision, the board heard from resident Candice Casey who doesn’t support funding because she doesn’t see the nonprofit ski mountain as being a critical asset for taxpayers, only for people who may visit the resort.

Really?

Black Mountain is not some bunny slope that sells a couple of lift tickets now and then. It hosts high school ski meets, state and national championships, snowmobile races and community festivals.

Just last winter, the mountain and its Chisholm Ski Club hosted the 2010 USCSA National Nordic Championships. Next year, it will again host the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships.

These national events bring people, prestige and money to Rumford.

Whatever procedure selectmen need to adopt to revisit the vote, they should do it.

The tally on the original vote was 637 people supporting the Budget Committee recommendation to spend $51,000; 430 voters supported the selectmen’s recommendation to fund $56,700; 657 voters supported zero funding.

The third option won, because that total was higher than either of the other two. But, the reality is, 1,067 Rumford residents supported funding mountain operations, and merely disagreed on the amount.

The intent to fund this ski showplace was real, and selectmen have an obligation to taxpayers to review how the funding request went so wrong.

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Cheers to the Auburn Public Library for completing its Internet upgrade, allowing higher-speed travel on the information superhighway.

According to Library Director Lynn Lockwood, constricted bandwidth had forced the library to restrict access to many popular sites, but the upgrade — offering connection 32 times faster than before — will allow the library to lift those restrictions.

Even with the slow speed access, the library welcomed almost 45,000 customers to use its computers, with others using personal laptops for wireless access, in the last year.

With the speedier bandwidth, patrons can make better use of library equipment, and be better connected to an expanding world of information. And isn’t that exactly what a public library is for? 

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