Well, so much for today's recording session...

[Bob Womack]

A got a call form a producer to play guitar parts for a pair of his songs today. He sent me a couple of wav files of the songs last night so I at least knew what I was in for and what to pack for the session. There's an interesting twist to this one: For one of the songs the producer asked me to prepare to help recreate the spirit of a Billy Joel performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test from 1978. I looked up the video and, lo' and behold, Joel's guitarist was playing a '70s Les Paul. I've got just the thing! So, this morning I packed my '74 Les Paul Standard, an American Standard Tele, and the Helix Floor modeler into my wife's SUV (because it has more space than my MINI) and transported them over to the studio for the afternoon's gig. I backed up to the loading dock and took them in.

As I was leaving the studio to give my wife her car back and coming down the stairs by the loading dock, I caught my toe on the next-to-last-step and launched into this really interesting forward loop onto the concrete hard stand of the loading dock below. My head made a convenient skid plate and shock absorber to arrest my forward and downward momentum, followed by touchdown onto my knees. As I made contact I felt my baseball cap pop off and both heard and felt my glasses grinding across the concrete as they, too, popped off. It was one of those shattering stops where the pain starts immediately, despite the effects of shock. There's an interesting vibrating sensation as the waves of pain pour over you that is eventually communicated to your muscles. I'm feeling all this with my eye an inch off the concrete. As soon as I could compose myself I rolled over on my back and just laid there, trying to resolve the blue sky above and waiting for the trembling to stop.

What's the first thing I did when I regained control? Ralphie? Old habits die hard. Having worn glasses since I was a kid, the automatic memory from fifty years ago is that damaged glasses are not tolerated! I fished around above my head and found them by touch. I discovered that I had indeed ground up and disfigured the frame and produced nice scrapes across the focal area of my progressive lenses. Have you priced those lately?

Next, I patted around and found myself leaking from my head, hand, and knee. I call it "leaking" because I am on a blood thinner and no longer simply bleed like a normal person - I leak. A tiny pinprick can take a half-hour to staunch. If I cut a corner too close and brush a door frame it means an hour applying pressure to the scrape. Thankfully, it was a dead time at the studio door so no-one discovered me lying shivering and bleeding on the concrete. Quick check - Nothing was broken, I was able to focus my eyes, and though I was a little groggy, things made sense.

So, I packed myself back into the car and limped home to mama. My wife spent three years in nursing school, so she knows how to handle this crap. She hovered, tut-tutted, and shook her finger at me. No, what she really did was get me into a recliner, ran a concussion protocol on me, cleaned and treated the wounds, applied pressure to stop the bleeding, and then applied cool packs on my head and knee to reduce the subcutaneous bleeding. During the concussion test I was crossing my eyes and imitating Cousin Eddie from National Lampoon's Christimas Vacation ("That lump is right under my part. My hair ain't going to look right"). Well, at least I still had my singular sense of humor.

I'm sore and stiff all over. I've got swelling in my knee and a scraped up lump on my head, but all my brains are still in there and not out here. My hands are okay but my wrists are sore from the impact, especially the left one, and especially if I attempt to turn it up into guitar playing position. I had to contact my client and my scheduler to postpone the session but the producer was extremely kind and we've already moved it to next week.

I can't really draw a conclusion or extract a lesson from this one. I'm just glad to be relatively in one piece and functional!

Bob

[Mbroady]

Wow. So glad that you will be ok. It sounds like you kept your composure and knew what you needed to do. And it’s good to have a partner who is medically trained.

Now time to heal

[DukeX]

Glad you are ok, Bob. Could have easily been much worse. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

[M19]

I turn 65 this spring and I am developing a concern for stairs. They're evil!

[FrankHudson]

Wonderful description there Bob. I was hurtling then hurting with you. As an older guy, I was hoping you'd be able to get up and write it, and glad to read that you could.

[jim1960]

Whoa!... glad you're kinda sorta okay.

[Wrighty]

Sounds awful, hope you feel better soon..

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by M19

I turn 65 this spring and I am developing a concern for stairs. They're evil!

I'm hoping to get to 73 ni a couple of months, but we are having thick frosts here in southern England and with the current stresses on the health service,
it's really not the time to have a fall right now.

They'd probably tell you to find two sticks and some string and call back in a couple of months!
(We are "allowed" out to take exercise) -I'm exercising inside!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

…I can't really draw a conclusion or extract a lesson from this one. I'm just glad to be relatively in one piece and functional!

Bob

Hi Bob

These are the kinds of adventures that old people (I'm 72) try to avoid!! Really sorry, sir.

[TJN]

Glad to hear you are OK.

[Mr. Jelly]

I hope things come out okay. A thought of workman compensation crossed my mind and the filing of a work related injury report. I can't help it I've spent to many years managing manufacturing and processing plants.

[Rudy4]

Thanks much for the story, Bob. Mend rapidly!

It instantly brought back memories from a few years ago when my overly-rambunctious Labrador Retriever helped propel my left shoulder into frozen ground, resulting in a "Pulverized collarbone" (the orthopedist's description).

These types of events are perfect examples of the old adage "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

It all happens so fast, and is often, in retrospect, avoidable. The problem is you need to be clairvoyant to avoid the occasional run-in with destiny.

My playing partner was at our house for the evening and slipped out the back door carrying his Weber octave mando and Waterloo guitar and didn't turn the outside light on when he went out. We live in the country and it's DARK out here. He miscounted the number of steps from the house to the lower deck and ended up with a torn rotator cuff. Luckily no instruments were harmed.

I relay that story only to emphasize the need for all of us to slow down and use extra care as we get older. I realized that my mind is just a few steps ahead of my body as I age, so I'm trying to follow that advice, provided by both my doc and my wife!

[KevWind]

Ouch man session combat style. Glad it was not worse. As far as lesson , well being 70, I'll join those saying stairs get more significant as you age.

But age does not always equal wisdom . I pulled a less significant and basically just a dumb stunt, two days ago.

While blowing snow my wife had gotten her tractor stuck over the side of road. So I took my skid steer down hooked up a chain and pulled her out . Great! except when I disconnected the chain and went put back it in the cab of her tractor, I was looking down gathering the chain and walked head first right into the raised arm of the bucket on the tractor and almost knocked myself out.
So now in the mirror, I have an inch round lump and scrapes on my forehead to remind me of my stupidity

[AcousticDreams]

Incredibly descriptive words describing your nearly out of the body experience.

Sounds to me like you have the basis of your next song! I can almost hear the melody as it soars to its peak and begins to magically make our feet tap.

[Glennwillow]

Wow, Bob!

I'm sorry for the mishap; I'm glad you weren't hurt worse. And I'm glad your wife was there to take care of you. That kind of quick and caring attention can make such a difference in helping you heal more quickly!

Take care!

- Glenn