Anything can happen

Well, it's been ... interesting, all right.

This has been a weekend with very little spare time for the things I wanted to do, including keep up with your blog posts. The magic number has just crossed the two dozen mark. Maybe I can start slicing into that number later tonight. But I wanted to get this out first.

On Friday, it was the football playoff game. Saturday, I was at the volleyball district tournament for most of the afternoon. When I got back home, David was here. It was his birthday, and we had gifts for him. But he didn't want them--not until Sunday. Whatever.

We took him out to dinner. Then, after getting home, we watched a movie with him. Then, he asked me to drive him home (he wore a jacket that was too light for the weather). After that, my wife wanted to watch a movie with me. And we did. It was a 1940s-era movie about a dog. She went to bed. I stayed up for a little while--finally got to watch some hockey--but not long. The last few days have been pretty exhausting, what with an all-day trip for the medical tests and volleyball tourney on Thursday; a regular day of work and a football game Friday night; some frantic writing, another volleyball tourney, dinner out and movies on Saturday.

David came back Sunday to watch the Packers game with us; we gave him his gifts at halftime: a "Transformers" DVD, a PSP game and a new camera--I had promised I would help him buy a new one after his old one died on him. My wife sat next to me on the couch during the second half, fell asleep during the fourth quarter and stayed asleep until halftime of the second game. After she woke up, she remembered that we we had to go out and get some groceries.

That's because the weather here is going to get ugly. On Monday and Monday night, we're supposed to get 2 to 4 inches of snow, and it's supposed to be coming down sideways--high winds from the northwest, with gusts as high as 45 mph (72 km/hr) during the day. Parts of the U.P. closer to Lake Superior are forecast to get as much as 12 inches (30 cm).

Both our teams won, by the way, and their next games will both be taking place in the Winter Storm Warning areas. Of course, that isn't until late this week, but it's something to think about. This time of year, after all, anything can happen.

I'll try to get caught up on blog alerts over the next couple days. My schedule quiets down for a few days. Then, next Friday and Saturday, I will be extremely busy with a pair of long trips out of town. One extreme to another.

As for anything can happen--here is proof of it. It came in an e-mail from my friend, S, a few days ago:

[QUOTE]My posting and blogging may be sparse for awhile. A few mornings ago I leashed up the dogs and headed out the front door to walk them. They bolted! All I can figure is that they saw a squirrel. My seven concrete steps suddenly became two doozies, and I went flying. Still not sure if it was the humble ornamental donkey in the front yard or a tombstone that got me on my upper lip on the way down. The impact caused abundant swelling, some great facial bruises and my blue eyes became highlighted by a background of solid red. It was almost Halloween and I got my mask for free! :)

Then I realized I couldn't get up. Not a good sign. We had decorated the front yard in tombstones as a Halloween treat for the grandkids and, there I was, laid out between rows 1 and 2. Started yelling for the hubby (he had been dressing). Out he comes in his underwear to assist me (I sure do love that man) ... and I'm telling him to go find the dogs. Choosing my problem over theirs for the moment, he tried to get me up. It was a no-go. As he headed for the house to call an ambulance, one dog returned and went in with him. Looked like the squirrel chase was over, so I figured the other would return shortly. Sure enough, by the time my husband dialed 911, pulled on some pants and grabbed a blanket to keep me warm, the second dog came trotting home. That was a big relief, because I would not have agreed to go anywhere until I knew they were safe.

Within minutes, the ambulance guys pulled up and located me lounging amongst the tombstones and one pipes up, "Well, if that isn't fitting...or...maybe not". I responded, "Yeah, where's the video camera when you need it?" They hoisted me onto the gurney and into the ambulance, where I proceeded to go on the ambulance ride from hell. You'd think they'd make those things so they rode smooth and didn't bounce. They'd better not try doing any circumcisions in the back of that thing!

Well, I won't even go into the whole hospital experience. Let it suffice to say that it lacked in entertainment value. Thankfully, my face was just colorful, but there was no major damage. My right leg was not so fortunate. It was fractured, and I won't be able to bear any weight on it for six weeks. They also had to do surgery to drain off the excess fluid, blood and marrow. Can you say 'elephant's knee'? In computer terms, this translates to at least a week or so of little or no activity. However, the good news (or not) is that once I get past the worst of the pain in a week or so, I'll be able to write frequently once again and plague you all with my weird sense of humor on a regular basis. Now isn't that something to look forward to?

Have a great week, and look out for squirrels![/QUOTE]

Well, of course, I worry about her. I wrote her a reply the next day, but it bounced. "Permanent fatal errors." I tried again. Same thing. I tried again. No bounce notice this time. I'm guessing it went through, but I'm not sure.

Today I sent her a egreeting.com funny get well card. I didn't get a bounce notice. I am tempted to phone her, but I really don't want to do anything that would force her to get up, since her leg is probably pretty painful right now.

So I'll sit here and wish that she keeps her leg elevated and that her recovery is quick and uneventful.