Truly Spectacular

Yesterday I went with Ruth on a bike ride. We rode all the way down to the chapel on Stone Pond. On the way back we were walking up one particularly long hill (being fatigued) when I decided to take off my sweatshirt. I draped it over the handlebars. At the top of the hill we got back on our bikes and headed down the other side. I remembered my sweatshirt as we were starting to speed up, and reached forward to wrap it around the handlebars. I was thinking what a hazard it was, and started praying. Practically the same moment I felt the front wheel slow down and I was sailing over the handlebars.

My life did not flash before my eyes, I am sad to report, but more excitement was on the way. Ruth, who was behind me, had no time to react or swerve- straight toward me she came, and straight over my back she rode. From my position on the ground I watched her go over her handle bars several yards in front of me. All was silent, save for the groans of the dying, when Ruth hollered from the ground, "Katie, are you dead???"
"No!" I yelled back, but I must admit I didn't feel truly lively either. Ruth jumped up and ran back to where I was still face down in the dirt, asking me another difficult question, "Is anything broken?" I was still trying to figure out which end was up.

She whipped out her cell phone and started calling numbers. Nobody was home at her house. Nobody answered at Fairwood (she asked me for that number and somehow I actually came out with it, after a lengthy pause). Then she called the kitchen of the Main House. Unbeknownst to us, the kitchen phone ringer didn't work. Mr. Murray happened to be walking by at that moment, glanced at the phone, and noticed that the little light was flashing. So he picked it up and said hello! Who else in the world would have noticed that light and decided to pick up the phone? Danny was right in the kitchen talking, and made it out to his car in record time, I am sure. Mr. Murray found my Dad and said, "Bob, Katie had an accident, down there!" and he pointed down the road. Daddy sprinted for the van, grabbed Megan in passing, and howled out of Fairwood somewhat over the 10 mi. an hour speed limit. He set Megan to watching the side roads for bodies. :-)

Meanwhile Ruth and I had figured out that I wasn't broken in anyway, and even though I felt her tires go over my back, it was intact. I worked up my courage to move from my comfy spot in the middle of the road wile Ruth moved the bikes. Then we sat on the bank together, laughing with slightly hysterical overtones. Thus Danny found us and shortly afterwards, Daddy and Megan. They picked us up, loaded the bikes into the vehicles and home we went.

Pretty exciting, eh? I went right to the Hansens for a through, but gentle checkup from Mr. H. My knee was twisted and swollen, but nothing seemed to be seriously wrong, my right arm is all scratches from the middle knuckles down to the elbow, and there are a couple patches of what Daddy called hamburger. A day later I am sore all over and hobble around Fairwood like an old lady. That is, I hobble when I go out. Most of the day was spent either sleeping soundly in my bed or napping on the couch. Ruth was less scraped up than I, but is also quite sore.

BUT... I must say, I am so grateful that God protected us from worse injuries! Neither of us hit our heads, neither of us broke a bone, Ruth didn't land on top of me, which would have been far more damaging (to me anyway), and thankfully she had remembered to bring her cell phone. Mr. Murray was certainly working with God right then, and thankfully both Danny and my Dad were easily found. Lastly, I think there might have been an angel protecting me when Ruth rode over my back- I didn't even have tire marks on the back of my shirt!

So there you have my exciting saga of the week! And may it never be repeated.

PS- (complete change of subject) Today there was a bull moose on the front lawn. I saw him. Several people saw him, in fact. Davie chased him down the road. Thankfully the moose wasn't feeling aggressive. Somehow I don't think Davie would have been the winner in a face-to-face confrontation.