A little slice of life

One song I have loved since the mid-70’s is David Bowie’s “Young Americans.” Wonderful lyrics! And they came partly true for me on Friday

… But the freak, and his type, all for nothing
He misses a step and cuts his hand, but
Showing nothing, he swoops like a song
She cries "Where have all Papa's heroes gone?"

Do you remember, your President Nixon?
Do you remember, the bills you have to pay Or even yesterday?

Have you been an un-American?
Just you and your idol singing falsetto 'bout
Leather, leather everywhere,
and Not a myth left from the ghetto
Well, well, well, would you carry a razor
In case, just in case of depression?


In my job, it’s to my benefit to carry a razor cutter
in a case to open boxes, cut strings and wires, trim loose flashings, and slice open the heel of my hand while attempting to do one of the above. It happened today for the same reason that almost every dumb injury occurs - I was not concentrating on what I was up to, and while opening a package, I finished opening the package and kept right on going.


Ever bang your head on an overhead joist and say, “Oh man, this is gonna hurt like hell in a second or two!”? Same deal - I saw the cut, made with almost surgical precision (I use sharp blades in that instrument, y’unnerstan’) and I knew I had a second or two to look around for a paper towel before the claret began to flow, as the boxing writers used to write.


I went downstairs to Health Care where two nice and well-trained people took care of me. Abby decided against the need for stitches, although she did recommend a tetanus shot sometime between tonight and the return of Halley’s Comet. She sized up the situation and decided I need not worry about bleeding to death. So, I got all patched up, they gave me the rest of the supplies in the kit so I can change the dressing over the weekend (I think I’ll try the Pepper Parmesan next time) and the cool thing is - there are little tools in the kit that I can reuse the next time I am looking at one thing and cutting another.


Thanks, Abby and Judy, for being good to me for at least the 47th time, and - you kids out there reading - don’t try this at home! I am a trained professional!