January 29, 2026-

The blood was coming out in a light, but steady flow. I had hit the icy sidewalk just hard enough to scrape my scalp. At 75, I don’t have as many layers of epidermis as at other times in my life.

So began my first ride as a patient in an ambulance, since my senior year of high school. That was only a mild slice that required six stitches.

The ironic locus of the accident, this time, was a Texas Department of Public Safety center. I had gone there to obtain a Texas driver’s license.

A young woman saw the fall and offered to call 911, but a man named Akenna had already called . He was being guided to put pressure on the wound, taking off his own shirt and donning his coat. A Texas State Trooper came out and took the information needed to report the incident. Then, I was on my way in the wagon.

At the nearest ER, action was fairly swift, The wound was cleaned, CT scans were done and a dressing was applied. The news from radiology was that there was a scrape, stitches were not needed, no fractured skull or brain bleeding.

I caught an Uber that Aram had called and returned to the DPS center; this time avoiding the sidewalk, and rescheduled the driver’s license process for next week.

After I found that I had left my phone in the Uber, I just drove home. Aram was already out looking for the driver, tracking him through my phone. The man was smart, as well as honest, and Son, with phone, was back after a fair amount of time.

He ended the day by dressing my wound after I had washed my hair.

Another day in Paradise came to a decent end.