2:18 p.m. - 2008-09-16
FALLS: 3 and BAT: 1
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Currently Listening
Bicycle Built For Two / And the Band Played On
Isn't this time of year a beautiful sight? Fall colors, pumpkins, squash and the countyside....and oh yes.....a bicycle!
Can't you just smell the fall leaves, the cool fresh air, hear the chirps of the birds and imagine the attractiveness of the county, riding along in this peaceful serenity????
or NOT? How about this?
Picture ME as the one who fell off her bicycle and RH (Retired Husband) as the one running towards the person who fell.
Yes, ME!
The bicycles we recently ordered are
nothing fancy, standard seat, no gears, no hand brakes....just a plain ordinary bicycle... When they arrived, my husband put on the front wheels, pedals, handlebars and fenders. My front wheel is crooked and none of the 4 fenders are straight but.....we thought we could manage.
(I need to say that these items are warped...it isn't that RH didn't do a great job in putting the bicycles together....it's lack of quality control...people!) And, I am NOT saying that has anything to do with what happened either.
My first attempt on getting "back on the bike" was very frightening. I have no idea how I managed to ride a bike all those years... in my youth...without killing myself. I managed to get on the seat and wobbled my way down the block. Thank goodness, the sidewalk is fairly new, had no ruts or bumps. Of course, when I got to the end of the street, I fell off the bicycle into the grass on my right side. Somehow, my legs from the knees down are just not as stable as they were 30 some years ago. I guess my doctor is right...I DO have arthritis in my knees because I just can not seem to support myself very well when I have to rely on one leg or the other to stand up on. It was like...s...l....o....w.... motion as I felt myself falling onto the grass. Thank goodness my approximately 5'2" body has a little extra padding these days so I didn't break a hip or something. And being about 5'2" makes me closer to the ground to begin with!
Yesterday, we decided to try the bicycles again. This time, I managed to fall off the bicycle in my own driveway....I couldn't even get on the bicycle pedal to push off before I fell down. Oh, the embarrassment! Not to mention the pain of a skinned left elbow.
It's a good thing I fell on the left side this time so I had room for more bruises.
Picture in your mind the sight of bruises......MINE are uglier and more black and blue.....
Then we managed to ride down the street into a little wooded area with a sidewalk. All was well until my RH decided we should TURN around and go back the same way instead of continuing onto another path. I thought I could manage, started to turn and saw a weed patch with broken bottles in it and panicked!
"HELP!" I said, right before I managed to fall off the bicycle again (on the left side) and landed with my left hand palm hitting the cement, and jamming my entire left arm up through the shoulder. By the time, RH got back to me, I was assessing my pain and decided I could get up. I did get back on that damn bike and rode it back home.
In thinking it over later.... as I felt the stiffness setting in....., I could not understand why I didn't just put on the brakes, and jump off the bicycle instead of falling. Oh wait...now I remember.....my legs don't always do what my brain thinks they will...or is it my brain that won't do what my legs are planning to do?
What I might really need....is a bicycle with T.H.R.E.E. WHEELS!!!!!....AND a cute basket too!
Now, on to other things..... Imagine our excitement upon returning home and counting my bruises....!!!
We thought it would be a perfect time to sit on our front porch and watch for hummingbirds. I got a couple of cans of Diet pop out of the refrigerator and heard the following.
"click...of the front storm door opening....
"OH SH-T!"...sounds of hand hitting body..
When I got to the door and looked out at RH....his eyes were very wide.
"What's wrong?" I said.
"Look down"...he said.
and guess what we saw ??
YES, IT WAS A BAT.....! RH said as he opened up the door, he saw something fall from the top of the storm door, it hit his right arm and he instinctively brushed it off of him. He thought at first it was a wet leaf.
We looked at it and it wasn't moving. We were trying to figure out how and why it was on our storm door during the day. He got a grabber stick and poked it and it moved a little.
I found an old Glad plastic food container and he used the grabber stick to pick it up and put it in the container. It opened one wing but seemed kind of in a stupor. He took it out to the back yard and put it on the ground where it hopped a couple of times. When he checked a few minutes later, it was gone.
and Yes....we probably should have called the Board of Health to see if it should be checked for rabies. RH looked over his arm several times yesterday and today and there is no mark on him.
So.....Falls: 3 and Bat: 1
