Writers’ Workshop: I Fall Down, Go Boom

Writer's Workshop 1 Minute

Falling isn’t as much fun now as it was in the days before I needed help getting up. Obviously, I do everything I can not to fall, or at least if I do, fall near a flight of stairs so I have a chance of getting up.

My cousin Genny got married the Saturday after 9/11. We were fortunate enough to get into Chicago and to our hotel, which was across the street from where the reception was. Anyway, we had some time to kill after the wedding, so we decided to go back to the hotel, then walk over when it was time. No cars, no muss no fuss, right?

Anyway, we were set to cross Mannheim Road, and when the light changed, we stepped down, and I got my foot caught in a small hole in the pavement (Chicago has lots of holes in the pavement) and face-planted. I was all right, surprisingly, but I managed to tear the knee out of one leg of my pants. Fortunately, the pants were baggy enough that it covered the hole, and so as long as I didn’t say anything, nobody would notice. I didn’t say anything; nobody noticed.

I was working in Downtown Atlanta a few years later, and I was walking to the parking lot after work, and managed to walk off the sidewalk and fall on the dirt, which was about six inches below the sidewalk. Two guys who had been walking behinmd me saw that, ran over and picked me up. Never saw the guys, never got their names, all I know is they were right behind me and they were Indian. I really appreciated the help.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

Published

22 thoughts on “Writers’ Workshop: I Fall Down, Go Boom”

  1. I can’t believe how much more a fall hurts as an adult than it did as a kid. We used to fall, roll, hop up and keep going! Now if I fall, I just lay there assessing if I can feel anything and slowly bring myself back to life. lol! I’m glad you’ve rebounded from your falls!

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    1. I know what you mean. I’m ready to get a LifeAlert, because if I fall I need help getting up. Mary had a terrible fall a few weeks ago: nothing broken, but her glasses got all scratched up and she ended up with a black eye for about a week, and was worried about a concussion for several days. She was okay, thank God, but it gave us both a scare….

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  3. I’m glad you were not hurt and that they were there to help you. Usually, when I fall, I sprain my ankle or wrist or hurt my shoulder. I end up immobilised for a few months because I take so long to heal. The last time, I had to wear one of those boots for 6 weeks.

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  4. I’ve fallen a few times. I have weak ankles that don’t seem to want to work right. I try to be very careful now that I am older.

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  5. I guess you fared better than your wedding reception pants, thankfully. How nice of those two to help you to your feet.
    And you’re right. I fell all the time in my younger days and thought nothing of it. Now, it’s a shock, then I’m embarrassed, then I take a long time to heal!

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    1. Mary had a terrible fall recently. She was walking back to the house from the mailbox, trying to read the mail and walk at the same time. She thinks she might have stepped on a pebble or slipped on the wet driveway, but regardless, she did a faceplant. She didn’t have a concussion, but had a black eye for a couple of weeks and scratched up her glasses…

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  7. I have dodgy ankles which give way all the time (even on flat ground) so I’ve lost count of the number of falls I’ve had, but usually in front of maximum people and highly embarrassing.

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      1. Actually I think my chronic pain might be a little worse overall, but it’s hard to measure because it’s like the boiling frog… I don’t even know when my back began hurting every day…

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  10. I think you should stop flopping down, John! 🙂 We have a dog that pulls on ice up here in the frozen tundra so we wear cleats on our boots now. We got tired of flopping around.

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  11. Glad you were OK.
    I slipped on the pavement and went down heavily on my wrist, but luckily didn’t break anything.
    Two guys hurried over from the bus stop to help me up but I couldn’t do anything for laughing, I was so embarrassed, especially as I’d had an armful of doughnuts which went flying into the road.
    They managed to get me on my feet though, but the doughnuts were toast.

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