#Thankmyluckystars...by Jim Terry

Just the other day I was on one of my hikes after work at Coyote Point Recreation Area. It’s a great area to hike due to the scenery that one can experience whilst taking in nature.  The trail starts out flat but then goes up a bluff so you can get some elevation gain and have more of a bird’s eye view. At the top of the bluff, you can then take in the view. It encompasses the bay water, the city by the bay, the towering eucalyptus trees, and, if nightfall, you can even see some stars. The quiet stillness that is created from a gentle breeze that quietly rustles the leaves in the trees and the reflection of the lights from the city and the bay bridge which echo and flicker upon the water’s surface, brings a sense of peace and tranquility somehow.  It really is something to witness at least once in one’s lifetime.  

As you all know, we just had one of the most “attention-grabbing” presidential elections to date. So after work on November 3rd, not only was I hiking this amazing trail, but I was also trying to read and learn what the results of the election were. Now keep in mind, that it is now about 6 pm as I continued my journey that evening. This means it is totally dark outside and I have a bright screen on my phone. This situation is very similar to when you walk into a dark room and flip the light on. Initially, you are “blinded by the light” and may get vertigo or dizziness for a moment but then, after the fact, you “see stars.”

If I had a crystal ball and could have seen into the future, I would have put my reading about the election on hold that day. As you know and because of the pandemic we are in, we had delayed results anyhow because of all of the mail-in ballots. 

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Life can change in an instant?” If so, this is exactly what happened to me that night…As I continued to hike and towards the top of the bluff with daunting cliffs just below me, I continued to look down at my screen and then back up again at the blackness that surrounded me. I did this time and time again but on the last occurrence, it created the scenario I spoke of while entering that dark room and flipping the lights on.  Not only did I  “see stars” but it also generated a bit of disorientation for me. With my newfound awkwardness, I then took my next step.  Needless to say, that step was off of the path, which encompassed a very steep embankment where I then lost my footing.

Have you ever rolled a rock down a hill? At first, it starts out a bit slow and then continues to speed up as it continues down that given slope as long as nothing is in its way.  My body and I did not know a fifty-year-old man could recreate this scenario and do this so effortlessly.  After I catapulted myself from the path I was on, I literally sped up as I continued to roll down the hill.  During this incident, I first saw the dirt as I hit the ground…then the towering trees…then the stars in the sky…then the city landscape, and repeat again as I continued rolling down the steep ridge. This “amazing view” I spoke of happened not once, not twice, but five times as I plummeted down the hill.

During my fall, I also witnessed my lit-up phone and water bottle that I was carrying, just like a scene in a movie and what seemed like in slow motion, go flying through the air as they flew from my hand’s grasp. It wasn’t until I hit a big rock that I finally stopped my would be tumbling act, that, unbeknownst to me, I had NOT performed yet…at least proficiently. 

As I got my bearings and stood back up, I first felt some areas of pain. Again fifty-year-old people shouldn’t be rolling down a hill without at least utilizing some protective gear of some sort. I then walked back up to where I thought my phone landed, sat down, and turned on the light so I could observe the biggest source of pain, which was located in my right pinky finger and in my right ribs where the rock stopped my fall.  My ribs bruised a bit in the week to come, but if one was to witness my finger at that time, they would have seen a lot of blood dripping from my hand and noticed that most, if not all of the skin on the knuckle was removed from my most recent mishap. 

As I sat there to take a moment to catch my breath and contemplate what had just happened, a quote or two came to mind. The first one I thought of was, “Forgetting our intentions is the most frequent of all acts of stupidity.”  Did I forget I was there to HIKE and not read news? 

Secondly and probably the more appropriate quote, “sh** for brains,” seemed to more clearly define my performance that night. 😂

You will be happy to know that I completed my hike without further incident. Also if one would have witnessed the completion of that hike, they may have noticed a limp or two and the groans of a humbled old man realizing his stupid mistake. Since that time, my finger and body are doing well and on the mend. I have also purchased my protective gear so the next time I perform, which may be the new and upcoming act for Cirque du Soleil, I should be able to do so without the calamity that turns into a catastrophe.  

So since it is the month of “thanks,” I want to tell you how “thankful” I am for my life, my family, my friends, my health, my job, you (the readers), my everything that I tend to take for granted during my busy life.  So much to be grateful for.

Oh and one more honorable mention to THE ROCK that stopped my fall, I too want to say, “I thank my lucky stars” you were there that night. If one was to measure the position of the rock that stopped my fall, it is literally about twenty feet from the edge of the cliff. If I had continued down the steep grade, I may have fallen an additional fifty to sixty feet over the edge of the cliffs onto the rocky shoreline below. #thankmyluckystars #givethanks #HAPPYTHANKSGIVING

Be safe! Be well! 

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