The Fall

You know how comedians mocked the alert gadget ad where the old woman said she fell and couldn’t get up?

Shit’s not funny.

I wobbled backwards, struck by sudden weakness mixed with vertigo. When I fell, I struck the posterior cranium so hard that it bounced. I remember it, then losing consciousness. Coming to, I gradually became aware that my glasses were off so opening my eyes in the morning sun was hard. A mailman ran past me lying on the frozen ground, delivered something upstairs, and then pretended he just saw me, asked if I fell (no, I’m just tanning my face, you idiot!) and helped me get to my feet.

How long I was out, I don’t know. How long I was awake but couldn’t move, I don’t know. So long the cold of the frozen soil my head had struck didn’t bother me because the pain was all I could know.

I self diagnosed concussion, mild. The effects would not magically go away. It was going to take a couple of weeks if not more. I’m too old to expect better.

Now? Still in pain, still queasy, dizzy.

I’ve been down this road so many times I must have missed half my life. I’m already losing my vision and my memory. Not terribly, nothing too dramatic. But my mortality is clear. And being ignored is a terrible thing when it only takes seconds to check on someone. Don’t run past anyone lying on the fucking ground, either. If you’re spooked, at least call 911 and report a person down. What’s wrong with people? I didn’t need training as a soldier or medic to call in a “man down” so why should you?

And by the way, you remember the story of the good Samaritan? You don’t have to be a Christian to value the lesson it teaches about not only bigotry, but snottiness, and evil in general.

You probably have a good heart. Do the right things when they matter most.

Had I been the mailman that day, I’d have stopped doing my job and called in a man down. I’d have encouraged him to lie still, I’d have kept him warm, and stayed with him. Head injuries kill. You can’t wait.

So to my mailman, God bless you. Next time go for some humanity, okay?