This latest string of mishaps began last Saturday. Hopefully now that this week is over, the string has been cut. I am writing about personal mishaps, NOT what is going on in the larger world around us, because unfortunate mishaps would be a gross understatement.
Last Saturday a friend and I went for a hike. We walked for two hours in an Oakgrove Forest not far from where I live.
At the end of the hike we bought beverages from the neighborhood cafe. Paper cups in hand we proceeded to walk up Stockton. She was ahead of me. I saw her foot catch on a section of pavement that jutted upwards, pushed by a tree root. In slow motion I saw her stumble then fall, arms outstretched, head to the side as she landed face first, with a small cry, on to the unforgiving pavement. Her sunglasses clattered to the ground as did the cup of tea she was holding. It fell not too far from her and drop by drop the tea spilled out.
In 2019 my sister, brother-in-law and a guide hiked around a glacial lake in Torres de Pines in Chili. The winds were fierce and gusted from every direction. A sudden fierce gust sent my sister toppling face forward onto sharp rocks.
To see my friend fall face down was a deja-vu. Fortunately in both cases, no limbs were broken, no concussion. Just stunned participants with cuts on their noses and blood dripping down. Grazes, bruises, etc.
The night after this I sat on my couch at 6 to watch the news, when - total blackness. A power outage - the second in a couple of weeks. NOT a dreadful thing - just an inconvenience without of course any idea of how long it would continue. Power returned after an hour.
The very next morning when I went to make my cup of coffee I saw droppings - the same place they had been before when I insisted to myself that it was cumin seeds. This time I could not deny what I saw, and this is a sight that really sets me on edge - of what - a cliff that is high. I called a friend who said she had bought an electric rodent zapper. I wanted to buy one. She generously told me I could borrow hers. I went to her house and brought the zapper back and set it. Well, strange to say, but since then, no droppings, no you-know-whats. Who knows what is going on - ours is not to reason why. The trap is set just in case.
The next day I drove to meet a friend at the Berkeley Marina. I waited for the light to turn green at the junction of Stockton and San Pablo Avenues so I could make a left hand turn. Yet again I experiened a disconnect between seeing and hearing things. I kind of saw a grey car coming out of the strip mall to my left. Then I heard a crash and I realised something, that car, had crashed into me. I turned my head to the right expecting the car would stop at the side of the road and we would exchange information or something. Instead I saw the car pass me on my right and it turned right on San Pablo Avenue. I registered it was a grey Pontiac - I couldn't see the license plate, but I then turned right and drove after it as it was not going to stop. I followed it down San Pablo, it turned right on Waldo Avenue. In hot pursuit I made a right, lost sight of it and realised what I was doing was insane. Thoughts, time, movement coalesced back into so called normal. I drove toward the Marina and then thought I should check my car - a serious ding on the rear seat, no hubcap - scratches.
So - severely shaken up. Thank the lord no injuries, and thanks for the help of a friend who helped ferry me back from the body shop, and to rent a car.
Lets hope that is it.
