Turns out you DO need your head

By Kris Neri, with the Femmes Fatales

As strange as it sounds, I apparently tried to get rid of my head recently. Joe and I were checking out at Walmart, when we noticed one of the soup cans we were buying was badly dented.

Don’t give me grief about shopping at Walmart. If you live in a small town, you shop at the Super Walmart. Many small town residents insist if something isn’t at Walmart, you don’t need it.

I won’t go that far. We’ve been fixing up our fixer-upper home since we arrived in New Mexico. That means we also spent lots of time and money at Ace Hardware as well. For a long time our cars drove on their own to Ace Hardware, especially if we hadn’t dropped any money there in…say, the last few hours.

That Ace Hardware stores are all independently owned, I believe it balances out that too much of our weekly shopping fattens the Walton family coffers. 

To get back to losing my head…

I rushed off to exchange the dented can for one without dents. Because I still haven’t committed the Walmart grocery section to memory, I was searching the grocery signs for the soup aisle. 

Since I was looking up and the in the distance, I didn’t notice that right in front of me was an empty clothing rack that someone had pushed into the main aisle.

Pow! I walked right into it.

It almost knocked my head off.

I gave up a dented can, but wound up with a dented head. 

I like to think that even if I was studying the higher-up signs, if the rack had been filled with clothing, I would have noticed it right in front of me. That would have made for a large visual block, rather than a thin metal line painted in a pale-colored paint. Even if I had walked into it, clothing would have padded that hard metal rack. I like to think so, but I do have a lifelong history of klutziness. I was also moving way too fast and paying too little attention to where I happened to be flying. Another lifelong trait.

Diagnosis: a minor head injury. I would have hated to get a serious injury, considering how much this one hurt. 

I suppose that was accurate, since I didn’t even get a black eye or any serious bruising, just some red marks and puffiness. And a monster headache. 

I kept worrying about more serious consequences occurring. Fortunately, none appeared. Yet. As of this writing, it's mostly healed. There's one little tender spot left, but it isn't even red anymore. Only I know it's there. Thankfully, shrinking, too. 

An injury of any kind invariably does provide a wake-up call, however, but it also raises fears, even if they seem unwarranted. And it makes you look at how much worse it could have been.

I have two take-aways from my walk into that metal rod:

One is that I really have a hard head. I’ve always suspected that, but now it’s been proven. Thank you, genes!

My other take-away is that while don’t think this accident was entirely my fault — after all, the rack was pushed too far out into he aisle and bare. Still, I was moving too fast and not paying enough surroundings to my immediate surroundings.

The sad truth is that this wasn’t the first time that’s been true. The universe has actually sent me numerous lessons of that sort, yet none have ever changed my behavior for long.

How many skinned knees or minor hear injuries do I need before I learn that going a few seconds slower might be better for my health and well being? 

Then again, maybe it was just a matter of a rogue rack out to claim as many victims as possible. 

Sure, that was it.

What lessons does life give you that you refuse to learn? 

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NEWS! My general fiction novel of self-acceptance, HOPSCOTCH LIFE, has been accepted for publication! Watch this space for more news on this new, quirky heroine. 

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Buying link: Magical Alienation on Kindle

Comments

[Aimee Hix]

Maybe you're a writer because of the head injuries.

I have a history littered with ER visits, stitches, concussions, broken bones and I like to think the experiences have contributed to my creativity. :)

[Mark]

Congrats on the book sale! And glad you are doing better.

[krisneri]

Aimee, I like that explanation! I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[krisneri]

Thanks, Mark.

[Jeanne]

I sprained my ankles badly over 3 times in one year. So I made the decision to consciously LOOK DOWN every time I was out walking. I realized that just by focusing on looking down those curbs and holes were easily avoided. Still good to remind myself.

[krisneri]

Jeanne, I'm glad that worked for you. I'm actively working on watching where I'm going and looking at what's around me. I hope I'm as successful at it as you've been!