Tuesday, Ice, Small Town Communications

My tutee (?) (the person I've been tutoring) called this morning. He drives into town, and learned it was very foggy. We postponed our session until tomorrow morning.

I thought that the re-scheduling was just as well, since my wife and I had a meeting this morning, and the timing would have been tight. As it turns out, we got there an hour early. There'd been some confusion about the time.

There was a funeral at St. Paul's church, so the parking lot we used was nearly full. I had to park in a spot where we'd be walking up a slight slope.

Normally, the slope would be no problem: these new hip joints make walking as easy as - a stroll in the park? Today, with temperatures just above freezing, the parking lot was surfaced with a mix of ice, slush, and water. On a slope.

On our way back to the van, my cane slipped, or one of my feet slipped, or maybe a little of both. A moment later, I was flat on my back, my head pointed roughly south by southwest.

My wife tells me I vocalized, rather loudly.

An older couple offered help: which I really didn't want. Partly just pride, partly because I didn't want to risk bringing one of them down, too. My wife and the gentleman overrode my objections, and helped me up.

No harm done, apart from getting shaken up a bit.

That was mid-morning. My wife and I went back at the right time, had the meeting, went home, and ate lunch. Early in the afternoon, my father-in-law called. He'd heard that I'd fallen, and wanted to know if I was okay.

I like living in this town. Like many small towns, 'if you've forgotten where you've been that day, ask someone: they'll know.' We don't have the "privacy" (anonymity would be a more accurate term) that so many people seem to crave, but I can live with that. What's remarkable is how many people care about their neighbors.

Routines occupied the rest of the day. Our son got home from school, we ate supper, after a while I read Garfield to our son, and now I've finished this entry.

Goodnight.