Down Home: January 2012

When I was in high school, an iron fell on my head. Yup, an iron. You know, the kind of iron you use to press your clothing when it's wrinkled? Who knew right? Bled for days, but was really just a little mark of a triangle from when the tip of the iron struck my forehead at the hairline. Don't worry, even though I dropped it on my head, it did no permanent damage. Yes, that can be disputed, but for the sake of this post we will go with my view of what I believe my mental capacity to be.

Post-Post Insertion:

A friend of mine happily reminded me about the time a picture frame fell on my head. That's another story, but yes, I picture frame fell on my head, nearly in the same spot as the iron. Falling objects will be the death of me!

Then, last week in my first game of the year, and still recovering from my injury I ignored since mid December, I struggled miserably to stay on my feet the entire game (only to learn later my skates were in desperate need of sharpening). At any rate, I went down to recover a puck amidst flying stick blades and skates. After eventually having to lay down on my back to cover the puck that I couldn't see just to get a whistle to stop the action. When I finally got to my feet I felt a sharp pain on my left butt cheek. I thought "dang, maybe I sat on my own skate or something. Fast forward to the next day at the chiropractor's office and laying on the table with the massage therapist.

"You have a swollen area on your left 'cheek. You might want to ice it. How'd it happen?"

"Oh, I am a goalie and play hockey. I think I came down on my own skate last night."

"Well, it looks like the size of a curved finger. Looks more like the tip of someone's blade."

Yeah, that explains a lot. Not even a cool story of how I made an amazing save. No. I plopped my bum right no top of someone's stick as they were trying to swipe the puck. Geez, no glory in that story! Now, for how I hurt my head last night. You know the crossing lights?

not actual crossing light from altercation

So, once upon a time, I was crawling between a tree and a snowbank...wait...let me set the scene a little. It will make so much more sense. I live in Alaska. We get a lot of snow. It's wicked awesome and we get a lot of it. So much, that when the snow plowers come, or it completely dumps, the sidewalks disappear. So, you either walk on the road's edge to get to where you are going, or find another way around or through it. So, heading to catch my bus last night to meet up with some friends downtown, I take the back side of a snowbank to get to the intersection. Back to where the story started...I pull my backpack off to carry it in front of me for balance, and so I can clear the branches of the tree. As I am doing my usual trek to reach the corner, I clear the tree and start to stand up...only to clock myself in the head by hitting the crossing light box. I hit it so hard that snow that was accumulating on top of it came showering over me, my backpack and all around me. Apparently, I forgot that I was gonna come out of the "tunnel of trek to the corner" a little bit "taller" because of the snow accumulation from actual snowfall and plowed snow. I have a nice knot on my forehead on the left side. How many people do you know hit their head on the crossing lights? It made me laugh once I stopped seeing stars, crossed the street without falling over, and was able to assess the damage at my stop. Go me! Haha! Never a dull moment in the life that is mine!

Once I got downtown, I finally was able to walk around Town Square and see all the ice sculptures. Here are a few of the pics! I love winter! Next time, I will skate around the square. They hot mop that area, but I had to meet some people for dinner. I can't wait until I go again!