This is a very special Mickey Picayune in that I’m mostly sharing a giveaway for books at the end of this email. I have a shorter-than-usual story because my brain hurts at the moment and I need to give it some rest.
Why does my brain hurt?
A month ago, after one of our December snow storms here in Michigan, one of my neighbors posted a request in our Facebook group that went a little bit like this:
Please please please shovel and salt your sidewalks. I just slipped and fell on some hidden ice. Although I wasn’t hurt, it was frightening and could have been dangerous.
They weren’t wrong. But being a wisenheimer, I replied:
Can someone post some video footage of the slip and fall, and please add a cymbal crash to the moment of impact.
That was a little edgy for our friendly and otherwise supportive online group but it seemed funny and the OP said they hadn’t been hurt, so what the heck. Tragedy plus time is comedy.
This past weekend, as I walked my dog around midnight during heavy snowfall, my feet went out and I fell backwards. Like body slam hard, including my head. It was a classic: I saw stars, my head hurt like a son of a bitch, and I lay there for several minutes assessing damage before attempting to get up.
Yes it was a bit of karma to fall like that and I knew it was likely when I posted my “joke” post last month. I had fallen three times last winter the same way, stepping on ice hidden by snow, and spilling over violently. Those times it was my rump, hip, or shoulder that bore the brunt.
I stupidly thought my years of ice hockey had taught me how to fall, but karma summoned help from the third law of thermodynamics to bring a little chaos to bear.
Anywho, I’ve had a headache for a week. It’s better, but I’m trying to arrange an MRI and it’s not going well, thanks to health insurance.
I have “good” insurance, but no insurance is really there when you need it. The fine print comes into play, along with best practices. The practice now is the insurance company must approve of pricy procedures. This type of runaround would give me a headache if I hadn’t already had one.
I’m not looking for pity, as there are plenty of people who have sketchy insurance, expensive insurance, or no insurance at all. It just feels like we’re trapped in a silly video game in which the rules change. And if you think about it too much you might just break your television in frustration.
For the record, I’m pretty good about shoveling and salting my sidewalk. What I should do is wear cleats to help with traction. I even have a pair of strap-on cleats; they’re on a shelf in the garage instead of on my boots.
Also, I’m feeling better—the headache is fading— so don’t worry about me. I’m thankful for that, and also that I didn’t break a hip or shatter a wrist. Winter is risky, so please be careful out there and send video of “funny” slips and fall when the time is right.
Maybe You’d Like
The giveaway is for Sci-Fi and Fantasy books, and my own Hive is among them! https://authorsxp.com/giveaway
eBook & Paperback Sweepstakes!
(2) Winners of eBook “Gift Baskets” of ALL ebooks
Other Winners of individual ebooks or paperbacks (randomly selected)
Next Picayune
Thanks for reading the Mickey Picayune. I’ll be back next week with more of the same, only better. All the best,
Mickey
P.S. For those of you who picked up a copy of Ashley Undone recently, nothing helps like reviewing the book. It can be anywhere you’re comfortable reviewing books, and here’s a link to the Amazon page where you can do that if you don’t know anything better. (Thanks in advance.)