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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Day 20, Jan. 20: Oft-injured

When I was younger, I would annoy my mom by constantly bragging about and showing off
any injuries I might receive. There's still a little of that left in me as I recall these classics.
My Most Memorable Injuries
1. The Tree (I nearly knocked myself out one winter evening in 1990. Walking back to the TH office from a hockey game with my young son, Jay, I looked across the street for a moment, turned and slammed my face into a tree. Had to go to the emergency room, but didn't need stitches.)
2. The Lawnmower (Six years ago, I already had flooded the mower engine by tipping it to clean out debris, so the 2nd time it clogged, I tried reaching under the very edge - while it was still running! Kris came and took me to the ER. The result is pictured above.)
3. The Athlete (Playing pickup basketball at the Y in 1986, I severely sprained my left ankle. Was on crutches for several days. A sports reporter, I drove to Cassville, Wis., to cover a bball game. The pain was so bad, I had to put my foot out the window as I drove - in 15 degree temperatures!)
4. The Shed (just 4 years old, I was playing out by a tobacco shed. The wind blew the huge door on top of me. I landed on my stomach, but my right leg was crushed up behind me to my head. In the hospital for eight weeks!)
5. The Swing (18 years later, I helped a farmer work his tobacco fields. During lunch break, I tripped while vigorously pushing his young daughter on a tire swing. Cracked my wrist, but still managed to plant the rest of the afternoon.
6. The Fall (living in Gillette, Wyo., I had gone out for a night of partying. Arriving back at the trailer home, I stepped out on a small landing to take a leak, lost my balance, fell off and nearly sprained my ankle.)
7. Embarrassed (I love to tightrope railings and even the tops of swingsets. On a cold day when I was 12, I thought I was good enough to tight rope an icy railing next to a bridge. I slipped, landed flush on my thigh and limped home with my tail between my legs.)
8. The Rook (A senior in high school, I was trying to carve my own wooden chess pieces. Slipped on a rook and gashed my left pointer.)
9. Athlete's Foot (It was bad enough having this affliction as a junior high student, but I stepped on a clothes hanger and jammed the point in between my toes, into the fungus.
10. In the Shins (as a kid, I was always running instead of walking. At least four times, I slipped while running up cement steps, causing four different gashes in my shins. Scars remain.)




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