Friday, May 19, 2017

Friday, 5/19

Four years ago today I had an awful lot of fun, at least if you define “fun” as losing a tooth, getting six stitches on my face, and scraping up half of my body.

That's “fun”, right?

Yup; it's hard to believe it's been that long, but four years ago today I had my little (well, “big”, actually) bike accident, when I wasn't looking where I was going, ran the front tire of my bike into the rear tire of Loraine's bike, and watched physics take over. Five seconds later, I was bruised, battered, bloodied, and bewildered, not unlike many people who do stupid things to themselves.

So “yay” for me!

I did, thankfully, heal quite quickly. My tooth was replaced (thanks to Dr. Belpedio, who still rightly admires his handiwork every time I go in for a check-up), the scar left by the stitches is only visible if you know where under my right eye to look, and my fingers, torn to shreds by the pavement and cut up by my wedding ring, are as good as new. In fact, the only (literal) scars that are left are on my left knee, and those were scars I thought I'd carry with me forever. However, they too are fading, so one day the only physical reminder I may have of the accident is my new wedding ring, which replaced the one that tore up my fingers and had to be cut off once said fingers started to swell.

I don't recommend anyone do what I did. I don't recommend that anyone get into a bike accident, and I don't recommend that anyone have to go through what I went though. But in a strange way, having gone through that experience made me realize that I'm surrounded by some pretty amazing people, everyone from Loraine (who helped me right after the accident) to the people at Superior Walk-In Center who patched me up, to my parents who drove us (and our bikes) home to, as I mentioned, Dr. Belpedio, who gave me my new tooth. They all have my thanks, for now and forever.

Until you go through an experience like that, you just don't know how many talented and caring people are around you, both personally and professionally. I mean, I hope that you never have to go through what I went through (and since most of you are much more careful than am I, you probably never will), but if you do, I hope you're able to be surrounded with the same quality of caring individuals as was I. It's not a very fun experience, but it WAS made much more tolerable when you know you're in good hands.

Most years, on the anniversary of my accident, I go out for a bike ride (just to thumb my nose at fate). But because of the cold & the rain in the forecast, and the fact that I still haven't (as I mentioned a few weeks ago) gotten my bike out for the year, I won't do it today, but that's okay. My bike and I are still on great terms. About the only time I even think of the accident is when I'm riding past the place on Marquette's west-side bike path where the accident occurred. There, and only there, I slow down just a little, and make sure that I'm not about to run into anyone else's bike.

After all, I don't want to do it again.

On that note, have yourself a great weekend, and remember—no bike accidents for anyone!



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