I’m back, my forced sabbatical is over!

I survived a violent fall that often kills people; Now, I must earn my keep!

I broke my shoulder in a violent fall near the end of October ’23. It was the kind that can kill you. One minute I’m standing on the steps going to my lower level, the next minute I’m on the floor, broken. I fell, hitting the wall like a torpedo, leaving a quarter-inch dent in the wall, seventeen inches above the floor. I remember my head being bent nearly ninety degrees as I hit the wall, then falling to the floor. I knew I was in serious trouble when I realized my right side was numb and lifeless; my arm was simply hanging from its socket. 

I’m lucky to be alive! 

After visits to the emergency room and assigned doctors, it was determined that I had multiple hairline fractures of my shoulder. I didn’t need surgery but was required to keep my arm in a sling for 2 to 3 months. I was also told: no lifting, sleep very carefully and basically, don’t do much of anything.

While I couldn’t write, the doctors agreed that I could go on my previously scheduled trip to New York to see my daughter. Over the next few weeks after visiting my trip, I met with friends at several of my favorite coffee shops in the area.  

During my time in New York, I found myself changing emotionally, as I would tell people about my fall and how it had scared the bejeebers out of me. I started listening more, talking less, while realizing that all around me events are happening over which I have no control. They simply make me anxious and unhappy. People are losing friends over issues that are are out of their personal control. A good example would be “Why Ice Costs More than Bread in Mali”; maybe I care, maybe I don’t, but I have no control of this situation, so why should I let it affect my happiness. And we all know there’s more topics than this that are causing rifts between lifelong friends.

We all know the world is becoming unhinged, so how do we maintain our personal stability and happiness? For me, I’ve decided that I need to write because I have something to say that can help others (as well as myself) deal with these crazy times. In general, my writing will be about examples I’ve seen or experienced and what we, as individuals, can and should do to be more personally accountable for our own happiness.

I’ll be trying to do postings every other week, but no promises.

“Every time you get upset at something, ask yourself if you were to die tomorrow, was it worth wasting your time being angry.” Robert Tew