Yes, we all make mistakes. Mine topped them all. It was a doozy, a humdinger, an asinine stunt that landed me right in prison. Not the prison of walls, guards and bars, but the interminable prisons of traction, body casts and braces. I broke my neck when I was 21. What fun!
It happened back when I was a lifeguard in Atlantic City. One evening after work, I wanted to go for a swim. I rowed my lifeboat out into the choppy surf and dove off the bow . . . onto a sandbar. Ouch.
X-rays showed I had fractured and dislocated my fifth and six vertebra. Relatives came to visit me in Atlantic City Hospital. They told me how lucky I was. I could have been paralyzed from the neck down. Somehow I didn’t feel lucky.
Prolonged Agony
For three agonizing months I lay suspended in a revolving Stryker frame bed. After that I did more time in a full body cast, then a neck brace. Ever make love in a full body cast? It’s not a pretty sight or very romantic.
Girls would tell me it was like sleeping with Frankenstein’s monster. So I didn’t do very much of it, despite my hormones raging at the time.
Why am I telling you all this, let alone remembering it?
Another accident
The President of my talent agency division, TransMedia Versatile Talent, just called me to report she slipped and fell in a McDonalds near her home in Gainesville. She had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. She said she was in a lot of pain, but fortunately nothing was broken.
She asked me if I knew a good personal injury attorney.
You bet I do! I know one of the best. I told her Peter Ticktin. He was long-time client of our PR firm during major cases he was handling. Happily, he’s returning as a client. So I contacted Peter and they’re talking.
What’s the moral of all this? Don’t walk on slippery floors or dive off of boats into shallow water unless of course you’re a blogger and just want something to write about.
Now dive into my latest book available on Amazon: “Is there enough Brady in Trump to win the inSUPERable BOWL?” Don’t worry. It’s not shallow.
TM