“And falling’s just another way to fly.”

I have come outside to the deck hoping the malaise which has descended will disappear in the glory of the morning. I have to admit that first sentence does make me chuckle. I sound like a Victorian woman swooning on the chaise holding a handkerchief infused with lavender. Even Gracie too seems not herself. She followed me to the deck then went back inside to her crate. She doesn’t usually ever leave me.

Yesterday I fell twice. Nothing serious, a few scrapes. The first was due to inattention. I was talking and walking, luckily I hadn’t added gum to the mix, when I tripped over one of those parking blocks. My elbow and knee got it that time. The second was going up the deck stairs. My flip-flop turned and I tripped on it. I was two steps from the top, which almost sounds like a song title. Anyway, I went down on the deck and this time it was my hand and elbow. Today my knee and shoulder hurt. I have no idea why the shoulder hurts.

It was a chilly night. I don’t think my feet ever got warm. I burrowed as did Gracie and Fern. I should have gotten up and gone downstairs for the afghan, but I didn’t want to leave the bed and my luck during the day with stairs hadn’t been all that good so I chose chilly to wounded and bleeding.

Yesterday was a productive day so today won’t be though I might change my bed and maybe do some laundry. I’m not leaving the house. Errands are for tomorrow.

When she was little, my youngest sister always had the grossest big toes. She stubbed them too many times to count. My mother would put on band-aids but they never lasted. Toes and band aids don’t seem to do well together. Sneakers would have solved the problem but she never wore them. I remember white strapped sandals with open toes, gross open toes.

My other sister broke her leg by getting it caught in the spokes of her tricycle which went down the hill leg and all. She also almost lost her finger when one of those fold-up stools folded on her hand.

Given their childhood injuries, you’d think their adulthoods would be rife with broken bones, but nope, I’m the one who falls, who breaks a few bones or scrapes protruding parts of my body. I guess I should have been more prone to injury as a kid so I could have skipped it as an adult. Falling is now run of the mill for me.

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42 Comments on ““And falling’s just another way to fly.””

  1. Hedley Says:

    The NBA Finals and the 2013 World Series averaged 15 million viewers, The group match between the USA and Portugal was watched by 24.7 million and was huge on the East Coast and biggest in Washington DC. What on earth will happen if they get out of the group on Thursday ?

    So now we count down to our date with the Bochum Belle. It will be very important that Birgit is not distracted by the attractions of Bochum. Perhaps an early afternoon visit to the Bismarck Tower but she must skip the permanent residency of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express – An awful musical that has been sung in German in her town for over 10 years. I would rather have back stage passes to a Lennie show.

    Stop falling over, its bad. Get your snacks and clear your calendar for Thursday lunch time……here comes the USA Team

    • katry Says:

      My Dear Hedley,
      I saw those stats in the Globe this morning and was amazed as was ESPN by the sounds of it. I suspect if the US is gone so are the huge ratings.

      I saw that awful musical one summer at the Dennis Playhouse House. They had built ramps for it. I wasn’t impressed. Maybe I’d have liked it more in German.

      I get that falling is bad. I will be sitting here cheering. I already have some wonderful goat cheese and salami from Italy. I may need something sweet as well.

      Go USA!!

      • Hedley Says:

        Kat, I had no idea that Birgit lived in the Starlight Express epicenter of the EEC. You would have thought that she would have mentioned it instead of Iggy this and Iggy that

      • Birgit Says:

        Heeeelp, 2 more days, what else will Hedley dig up?
        Oh dear, Starlight Express, too embarrassing to mention. This musical is running in town for 26(!) years now and I’ve never seen it though many people told me I should. I’ve seen Jesus Christ Superstar in London (1979?), it was good, that’s enough.
        Btw, Hedley, The Stooges/Iggy played in the hall next to the Starlight Theater years ago 🙂 I missed this concert 🙁
        Back to Italy:Uruguay… Should I switch to the England game?

      • Hedley Says:

        Birgit, I also have the Uruguay and Italy on. Both matches are horror shows. Dreadful stuff. The Italians are rolling around like they have just eaten a bad German Sausage

      • Hedley Says:

        Birgit – Did we just see Suarez bite someone for the third time ?

      • Birgit Says:

        Hedley, crazy games! A Ghanaian witch doctor, an Uruguayan vampire and England, Spain and Italy out. What will come next? No, I better don’t ask 😉

      • Hedley Says:

        Birgit, perhaps when you are climbing the Bismarck tower on Thursday you can wonder of the next surprise.

        What on earth are Fenway Sports going to do with Suarez ?

        I am working on my Wednesday tribute to Bochum, as we close in on our big date

      • Birgit Says:

        Hedley, wow, a tribute. Feel free – I’m curious!
        (Wednesday? I may be late on Wednesday, chorus rehearsal in soccer-town Dortmund…)

      • katry Says:

        MDH,
        I totally understand her reluctance to share this with us.

    • flyboybob Says:

      Only 24.7 million viewers? Of course they are mostly on the East coast and DC. That’s where there the largest foreign population in this country resides. How did it play in the Midwest? How many people watched the last Super Bowl or the Masters?

      We have a long way to go before soccer becomes a major sport here in the US. I enjoy the highlight reel so I don’t have to watch 85 minutes of 22 men running up and down the field. 🙂

      • katry Says:

        Bob,
        I don’t know where you got your statistics but it layer well everywhere. It was the largest viewership for any sport except football. ” Washington, D.C., led all markets for ESPN’s USA vs. Portugal telecast with a 13.3 rating, followed by Columbus (12.6), New York (12.5), Boston (11.5), Hartford/New Haven (11.3), Providence (11.2), Atlanta (11.1), Baltimore (11.0), Norfolk (10.5), Orlando (10.5) and Sacramento (10.5). The additional 11, ordered by highest rating: Kansas City (10.1), Dayton (8.9), St. Louis (8.7), Jacksonville (8.4), Tampa/St. Petersburg (8.3), Nashville (7.8), Greenville (7.6), Greensboro (7.5), Memphis (7.5), Pittsburgh (6.9) and Birmingham (5.8).”

  2. Caryn Says:

    Hi Kat,
    I try very hard not to fall over anything these days as it is difficult to get back up again with my crummy knees. My knees are crummy because they have been the landing gear for the falls of my childhood, youth and adulthood. All those flights off horses, out of tree branches, off of roller and ice skates and bikes or onto piles of snow and ice from just standing outside in winter have taken their toll. There are plenty of scars on my knees and there is nothing under the skin of either of them that remotely resembles a knee cap.
    Having a new smaller emergency back up dog has been an adventure in not stepping on or tripping over the wee beastie. He is now my second shadow and he’s well below my line of sight.

    Flip flops are comfy but risky. Take care. Enjoy a day of doing nothing.

    • katry Says:

      Hi Caryn,
      Your poor knees have taken quite the beating so I understand why they are reluctant to hoist you up one more time. Trying very hard not to fall is a great idea but falling is sometimes sudden and unexpected.

      I got helped up in the parking lot but had to get myself up on the deck. I managed.

      Below your sight is bad. I know I have fallen in trying to avoid one or the other of the cats who are well below my sight.

      I use flip flops around the house and Chacos outside the house. I never trip wearing those.

      Have a wonderful day!!

  3. Birgit Says:

    Oh no, not again. Get well!
    Bob Dylan – Angel flying too close to the ground:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2exDYfESFAM

    • katry Says:

      Birgit,
      This is a great song. Now I feel better though the broken wings made me cringe just a bit.

  4. olof1 Says:

    Yes toes and sandals are a bad combination, I can remember picking out tiny stones from those wounds 🙂 I fell at work yesterday and I stretched my right thigh and my back 🙂 I also slipped on the kitchen floor after Orvar had been drinking. I’m not sure how but he manages to pour water over the entire floor after drinking and my kitchen floor always get slippery after that 🙂

    I’ve closed my bedroom window, it’s just too cold during nights and it will stay like this for at least ten days. Well my old boys like a coo, summer so I shouldn’t complain really 🙂

    Have a great day!
    Christer.

    • katry Says:

      Christer,
      My sister’s toes were disgusting to look at-all chopped up as they were. You and I are quite bad at falling or maybe quite good-I’m not sure which makes the best sense.

      I will make sure I have the afghan with me when I go upstairs because it is going to be cold tonight as well. The weather will be in the 70’s for the next few days.

      Have a great evening!

  5. im6 Says:

    My first instinct is to tell you how sorry I am about your falls (plural!), Kat. My second instinct is to SCOLD you. But I know a lot of good that would do. I guess we’re just getting at that age where these things just happen and no amount of “Be More Careful” or “Watch What You’re Doing” will do one bit of good. I used to say those things to my mom and she’d always say she would, but next thing I knew, she’d be tripping or bumping into something. It’s a miracle she never did more than break her arm.

    Still, I guess there’s a first time for everything, so…. Be More Careful, Kat! Watch What You’re Doing!

    • katry Says:

      im6,
      The first one merits a scolding as I wasn’t paying attention, but the second one was the fault of the flip-flop. I was just going upstairs.

      I figure twice in one day is a warning for me to be more careful so I will!!

  6. flyboybob Says:

    You and former President Ford are in good company tripping over yourselves. Please, be careful our bodies don’t heal as quickly when we are in our sixth decade. Klutz is akin to intelligence and artistry rather than athleticism.

    We had another good rain this evening so now our lakes are only down ten feet from normal instead of eleven feet. 🙂

    • katry Says:

      Bob,
      I trip over things, not myself. It was one of those parking markers and a flip flop gone wild. I do try to be careful but it doesn’t stop the surprises.

      Maybe the two storms are a foreshadowing of a rainy summer!

  7. Hedley Says:

    A Tribute to Bochum :
    My son and I sped directly to Gelsenkirchen, we missed the delights of Bochum. Dinner perhaps at the Livingroom or Nhy Star, no we pushed on to the arena. We were to find a small shopping plaza but somehow we missed the tour of the German Mining Museum.
    Deep in the Ruhr valley, we were called to watch the UEFA Champions League Final between Monaco and Porto, perhaps we should have sacrificed the tickets for Starlight Express. and how did we miss Fiege Beer.
    I like industrial cities, coming from Detroit, I get it. the folks were nice, they didn’t make me listen to Lennie. I wish THE Bochum Belle well for Thursday but honestly not to well

    • katry Says:

      MDH,
      A well written travelog which makes all of us long for the delights of Bochum!

    • Birgit Says:

      Thanks, Hedley!
      To be honest, you didn’t miss much in Bochum. No real tourist attractions, except maybe the mentioned mining museum, the railway museum and (I don’t know why) Webber’s Starlight Express. In the good old days our soccer team wasn’t that bad 😉 I like to live here, it’s home.
      I can sincerely understand the “not too well” and hope for a great fair game. Though I wouldn’t mind a tie in the end I hope teams play to win, not boring 90 minutes.
      OK, I can’t resist, here is our local “Lennie” with his (subtitled) song “Bochum” sung in Gelsenkirchen auf Schalke (now Veltins Arena). It’s our inofficial hymn.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpGIDOBZqgM
      I should buy Fiege Pils for tomorrow.

      • katry Says:

        My God what a crowd!

      • Hedley Says:

        Wow, Hebert is really dull and has a huge audience. completely Lennie like.
        Events like the World Cup are a time of celebration especially those that travelled so far to support their team. Hundreds or even more will be in Cadillac Square in Detroit to cheer on the USA tomorrow and I will be especially unpleasant to anyone driving a BMW or Mercedes Benz.
        My son and I were pleased to visit the Ruhr Valley, enjoy your Fiege tomorrow, I may be taking my daughter to lunch to celebrate her birthday or locked in front of a big screen TV in the office.
        Very best wishes to the Bochum Belle.

      • katry Says:

        Birgit,
        I echo the very best wishes!

      • Hedley Says:

        Kat – In tribute to Casey Kasem, I do hope you have a Lennie personal dedication for Birgit tomorrow. Something really dire, which means pick anything

      • Birgit Says:

        Thanks, Kat and Hedley.
        Lennie’s “Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye” dedicated to the US team? 😉

      • Hedley Says:

        Birgit
        If we were playing France, it could be “So Long Marianne” . I just cautioned someone in the office to leave his BMW at home tomorrow

      • katry Says:

        My Dear Hedley,
        Grrrrrrrrrr on Birgit’s suggestion!

      • Hedley Says:

        Kat, We have really tried to be nice to the Bochum Belle, it might be time to take the gloves off…..GGGRRRRRR, indeed

      • katry Says:

        MDH,
        The gloves are off!!

      • Birgit Says:

        “Sister of Mercy” Kat and Hedley (whom “Everybody Knows”),
        can I still change the Lennie song to “Hallelujah” USA? Probably not, you wouldn’t believe me. If you take the gloves off I think I need a “Famous Blue Raincoat” from now on 😉
        (Sorry, late reply, I’m just back home.)
        PS:
        Hedley, I have to admit that birthday lunch is more important than soccer. Have a great lunchtime and Happy Birthday to your daughter!

      • katry Says:

        Birgit,
        It is far too late! The gloves are definitely off! You are targeted. Hedley and I have combined our efforts. We will be singing “Hallelujah” at the end of the match!!

      • Birgit Says:

        … and I will be the lonely “Bird on the Wire” 🙁

      • Hedley Says:

        Boo Bochum Belle Birgit Bye Bye Bundesliga Boys

      • katry Says:

        MDH,
        I am so very impressed with your alliterative comment. Well done!!

  8. Jay Bird Says:

    Oh, dear… sorry about your fall. Heal quickly. Those parking blocks are evil. Disguise themselves as flat pavement.

    Now, another thing wrong with the World Cup is that so many national anthems beginning each game (sorry, match) are depressing. How about a Springsteen-esque “Born In Croatia”. Or a rap number: “You can brag and you can boast, but you’re never gonna beat the Ivory Coast.” We’ll never hear the coolest national anthem at a soccer World Cup… “Oh Canada”.

    • katry Says:

      Thank you, Jay. I should have been paying more attention.

      I like that rap number though I suspect Ivory Coast wouldn’t be as pleasant about the change. I wish I knew the translations for the anthems. The only ones I know are Ghana, England and the US.


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