Freaks and Geeks

Have you ever read an article about how a star athlete was sidelined by a freak accident? For instance, a quarterback ends up on the injured reserve list because he pulled a back muscle while sneezing or a pitcher can’t pitch in rotation because he was coughing and blew a blood vessel in his dominant eye and is temporarily blind.

This morning, yours truly was nearly taken out by a dragonfly! What follows is a true and honest account of my experience this morning.

It is well known that the sidewalks in Chicago don’t maintain their structure for very long, with the moisture and the harsh winters; all the sidewalks are cracked, crumbling and hastily patched. They can be treacherous to the high-heeled wearing miss, especially near the intersections. This morning I was waiting at a crosswalk on Washington and Wacker when a dragonfly decided his morning snack was going to be my coffee. I tried to shoo the dragonfly away and cover my coffee, all the while side-stepping out of the way, when my left heel caught in one of the cracks and down I went onto my left side. Surprisingly I didn’t spill the coffee and all the contents in my purse stayed put. I immediately started laughing. The gentleman next to me was laughing as well while he helped me up. The light changed and we crossed the street, that’s when it hit me, if I’d fallen forward instead of to my left I would have been a goner, taken out in the prime of my life in a freak accident involving a dragonfly and quite possibly a speeding taxi.

Now I do not wish to leave this life anytime soon, I’m having a good time and hope to be here for many years to come, but I figure if you have to go, at least give your friends a good story to tell about this chick you once knew who got hit by a cab because she got her heel stuck in a sidewalk crack while trying to stop a dragonfly from drinking her coffee.