1
Chapter 1
Day 1
It was just a normal day. The same kind of day I've had for the last six years. Get up, shower, brush teeth, all the other boring morning activities. Then I sit in my favorite chair and watch the local news and weather before I have to get to work. Yep, just a normal guy. Maybe even a little
cliché.
The little jingle just started playing on the TV and the announcer came on with his usual introduction, "And now, your local news and weather on Channel 4, the state's number one news network." As if it's some kind of competition. I just want to see the damn weather. I don't care who's number one or number two. That's when my son, Jake strolled lazily down the stairs into the living room, already dressed for school. He even remembered his backpack today.
"Dad, when are you going to get my frisbee off the roof?" Jake inquired.
"I'll do it later, Jake. Right after I check the weather."
"Oh come on, Lance. It'll only take two seconds." My wife, Gwen (who was in the kitchen behind me) chimed in.
"Okay, okay, I'll get my ladder."
"Good, I'm taking Jake to school then I'm going to the store to pick up a few things. See ya when I get back."
"Have fun."
We walked to the garage together because that's where the ladder and the car were. Big surprise.
"Don't fall and hurt yourself." Gwen warned as she stepped into the car.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
And with a final wave, they were gone. Time to start climbing. With my ladder in hand, I made my way out of the garage door around to the side of the garage where I remembered the frisbee had landed. I looked up at the sky when the rain began to fall. Just perfect. The garage roof was lower than the rest of the house. Thank God. My ladder would not have been tall enough if the flying disc had landed on the roof of our white two story cape cod home. I set up the still new looking ladder I bought a year ago and began climbing. As I neared the top I noticed I had set the ladder a little too far to the right. I wasn't about to climb back down so I stretched my arm as far as it could go but I still could not reach the frisbee. At that point, I attempted the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life. Clutching the gutter, I began leaning the ladder to the left. My fingers were on the blue plastic circle when my shoe slipped on the rain soaked rung of the ladder. I quickly grabbed the top of the ladder (another stupid idea) and I knew it was going to hurt as I fell and the ladder landed beside me.
I didn't feel anything for about thiry seconds as I was staring at the warning label of the ladder. If I wasn't in shock, I would have found the warnings hilariously stupid. "Do not stand on top step. Do not use near electrical currents. Do not move, shift or extend ladder when in use." I probably should have read the last one, before I got on the damn thing.
I stayed on the ground for about a minute but it seemed like ten or twenty. I didn't want to move because I knew if I did, something was going to hurt. About thirty more seconds later, I forced myself to move my fingers and toes. Slowly at first, then faster. I felt a sharp pain dart through my right arm as I tried to move the fingers on that hand. I knew something was wrong but I didn't want to believe it. I slowly stood up and when I looked at my arm, I knew it was broken.
At first, I tried to deny it. I kept telling myself "It's not broken, you're just looking at it the wrong way or something." I knew the truth, I just didn't want to accept it. My arm can't be broken. I need it. It's my right arm, my writing arm, my typing arm...my throwing arm. No more after school frisbee games with Jake for awhile. That thought reminded me of the whole reason I was out here. I looked around on the ground and right there, about two feet above where my head was a minute ago, was the frisbee. The accursed blue flying disc with the one white stripe along it's diameter. Mission accomplished. But not without a price.
Now what was I going to do about my arm. I didn't know a thing about first aid for broken bones. I was a newspaper editor, I wasn't paid to know that kind of ****. The only options I had were: A; Wait until Gwen came back so she could drive me to the hospital. That wasn't going to work because she had plans to go shopping that day. She probably wouldn't be back until about 12:00. I would have called her but she lost her cell phone two days ago. B; Call an ambulance. I had too much pride for that. Besides the hospital was pretty close to our house. The other option I had was C; drive myself to the hospital.
Once I got into my car and started the engine, I realized this was going to be easier than I thought. People drive with one hand all the time. But there arms usually aren't broken, they're holding a cell phone. As it turned out, it really wasn't that difficult. I found a way to rest my arm so it didn't hurt as much. So long as I avoided the potholes, I was okay. I made it to the hospital which was about a five minute drive. As I found an empty spot in the parking lot of the hospital, I remembered what Gwen said to me right before she left. "Don't fall and hurt yourself."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I told her. If I wasn't such an idiot, maybe I would have been fine. But there I was, in front of St. John's Hospital, with a broken arm. "Well, no use sitting here complaining about it." I said aloud to myself. I managed to get out and lock the door with no trouble. When I reached the double glass sliding doors to the hospital, I hesitated. I wish I had hesitated for five more minutes. Life is full of mistakes.
Day 1
It was just a normal day. The same kind of day I've had for the last six years. Get up, shower, brush teeth, all the other boring morning activities. Then I sit in my favorite chair and watch the local news and weather before I have to get to work. Yep, just a normal guy. Maybe even a little
cliché.
The little jingle just started playing on the TV and the announcer came on with his usual introduction, "And now, your local news and weather on Channel 4, the state's number one news network." As if it's some kind of competition. I just want to see the damn weather. I don't care who's number one or number two. That's when my son, Jake strolled lazily down the stairs into the living room, already dressed for school. He even remembered his backpack today.
"Dad, when are you going to get my frisbee off the roof?" Jake inquired.
"I'll do it later, Jake. Right after I check the weather."
"Oh come on, Lance. It'll only take two seconds." My wife, Gwen (who was in the kitchen behind me) chimed in.
"Okay, okay, I'll get my ladder."
"Good, I'm taking Jake to school then I'm going to the store to pick up a few things. See ya when I get back."
"Have fun."
We walked to the garage together because that's where the ladder and the car were. Big surprise.
"Don't fall and hurt yourself." Gwen warned as she stepped into the car.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
And with a final wave, they were gone. Time to start climbing. With my ladder in hand, I made my way out of the garage door around to the side of the garage where I remembered the frisbee had landed. I looked up at the sky when the rain began to fall. Just perfect. The garage roof was lower than the rest of the house. Thank God. My ladder would not have been tall enough if the flying disc had landed on the roof of our white two story cape cod home. I set up the still new looking ladder I bought a year ago and began climbing. As I neared the top I noticed I had set the ladder a little too far to the right. I wasn't about to climb back down so I stretched my arm as far as it could go but I still could not reach the frisbee. At that point, I attempted the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life. Clutching the gutter, I began leaning the ladder to the left. My fingers were on the blue plastic circle when my shoe slipped on the rain soaked rung of the ladder. I quickly grabbed the top of the ladder (another stupid idea) and I knew it was going to hurt as I fell and the ladder landed beside me.
I didn't feel anything for about thiry seconds as I was staring at the warning label of the ladder. If I wasn't in shock, I would have found the warnings hilariously stupid. "Do not stand on top step. Do not use near electrical currents. Do not move, shift or extend ladder when in use." I probably should have read the last one, before I got on the damn thing.
I stayed on the ground for about a minute but it seemed like ten or twenty. I didn't want to move because I knew if I did, something was going to hurt. About thirty more seconds later, I forced myself to move my fingers and toes. Slowly at first, then faster. I felt a sharp pain dart through my right arm as I tried to move the fingers on that hand. I knew something was wrong but I didn't want to believe it. I slowly stood up and when I looked at my arm, I knew it was broken.
At first, I tried to deny it. I kept telling myself "It's not broken, you're just looking at it the wrong way or something." I knew the truth, I just didn't want to accept it. My arm can't be broken. I need it. It's my right arm, my writing arm, my typing arm...my throwing arm. No more after school frisbee games with Jake for awhile. That thought reminded me of the whole reason I was out here. I looked around on the ground and right there, about two feet above where my head was a minute ago, was the frisbee. The accursed blue flying disc with the one white stripe along it's diameter. Mission accomplished. But not without a price.
Now what was I going to do about my arm. I didn't know a thing about first aid for broken bones. I was a newspaper editor, I wasn't paid to know that kind of ****. The only options I had were: A; Wait until Gwen came back so she could drive me to the hospital. That wasn't going to work because she had plans to go shopping that day. She probably wouldn't be back until about 12:00. I would have called her but she lost her cell phone two days ago. B; Call an ambulance. I had too much pride for that. Besides the hospital was pretty close to our house. The other option I had was C; drive myself to the hospital.
Once I got into my car and started the engine, I realized this was going to be easier than I thought. People drive with one hand all the time. But there arms usually aren't broken, they're holding a cell phone. As it turned out, it really wasn't that difficult. I found a way to rest my arm so it didn't hurt as much. So long as I avoided the potholes, I was okay. I made it to the hospital which was about a five minute drive. As I found an empty spot in the parking lot of the hospital, I remembered what Gwen said to me right before she left. "Don't fall and hurt yourself."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I told her. If I wasn't such an idiot, maybe I would have been fine. But there I was, in front of St. John's Hospital, with a broken arm. "Well, no use sitting here complaining about it." I said aloud to myself. I managed to get out and lock the door with no trouble. When I reached the double glass sliding doors to the hospital, I hesitated. I wish I had hesitated for five more minutes. Life is full of mistakes.
