the header | I'm smarter than this, right?

raccoon makeup enthusiast Jim Hancock

All told, I'm in pretty good shape.

What you can't see in the pictures the last few days is 

-  the sutures inside my lips (making me more grateful than usual for Greek yogurt + Healthy Choice Fudge Bars) 

- the brain concussion, which still has me a little woozy on Monday morning

- the subdural hematoma, which put me in the surgical intensive care unit last Thursday night

You also can't see the Segway my pal David lent me for a couple of days — not the placid airport security variety but the big-wheeled, off-road transport that is more fun than I've had on wheels since I was 11 years old, learning to drive a three-speed pickup in Robert Jones' pasture (Robert, who was ten, taught me to clutch and shift and we spent countless hours chasing cows — one of us driving and the other winging tung nuts at the innocent beasts — which, I'm afraid, was one of the least dangerous things we did when our parents weren't watching.

A segue is an uninterrupted transition from
one thing to another — thanks to the Italians
for this word. The Segway is an extraordinary
two-wheeled personal transport — thanks to
the inventor Dean Kamen for this!

The Segway is wonderful machine and I can hardly wait to ride again.

What else can't you see… You can't see — nor can I — the blank tape on either side of the crash. The truth is, I don't know how this happened. I had a ball Wednesday afternoon, playing chase with JonMichael on his kick bike, then riding like the wind for an hour on the wide one-way street that runs along the ocean near our home. Around 4:30 Thursday afternoon, I delivered still images from the video I'm working on for my friends at Northrise University in Zambia, then headed out for a ride before dinner. I don't know what happened next. Susan got a call on my phone from a Sheriff's deputy telling her to meet me at the hospital. I saw a clock in the ER at 6:30 p.m. I saw another clock, in the brain trauma unit I think, at 9:30 p.m. From there it was, wake up every hour, stay ahead of the pain with morphine, test muscle function and cognitive processing…you know, the usual.

The other thing you can't see in any of the pictures is the helmet I wasn't wearing when I tipped over. 

I'm embarrassed by the sheer arrogance of this. While I was riding Wednesday afternoon, it occurred to me that I was moving pretty fast and should protect my head. Thursday afternoon, I looked for a helmet before I went out. Not finding one, I went anyway. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

So…this could be much worse. I scared Susan half to death; I'm still a little wobbly today; I can't drive until I'm cleared by a neurologist; I'm taking medication prophylactically; I put work I really care about in jeopardy — not to worry friends; I'm on task to deliver in a timely manner = - ) 

So…yeh, this could be a lot worse; and not because I tumbled but because when I tumbled I wasn't wearing a helmet. Sorry. Going forward, I will seek to do better. 

Thus, I hope, ends the lesson.