Lucky to Be Alive: Dad's Accident (Part 1)

There's really no nice way to transition into this, so let's just get down to it.

On October 18th I got a phone call from my mom. This in itself is a bit of a rarity, and I have frequently told her she needs to call more often, because she seems to only call with bad news. I need to be reconditioned not to expect negative things when she calls. (You know, like how you take your dog for car rides so he doesn't automatically assume car = vet.) But I got blindsided on this one. First, she called from my dad's phone, and my dad is a billion times more likely to call me for something random (like to tell me he's 20 minutes from my house, and would I mind if he stopped by). Second, she started the conversation so normally that I suspected nothing. (Sneaky woman, she is...)

And then she hit me with it.

My dad was in a motorcycle accident on the night of October 17th. He was on his way home from a softball game (he plays in a Fall Ball league when he's able) and was worried about hitting wet leaves on the street he normally uses to get home. Instead, he went one street down, nicked the median (we think), and went down. 

The table was still set for Monday's
dinner when I arrived on Wednesday night.

My mom had been waiting at home for him. Over an hour after he should have been home for dinner, the hospital called my mom to let her know Dad was there. After explaining that his injuries were serious, but non-life-threatening, she got off the phone and headed straight to the hospital.

It wasn't until late Tuesday morning that my mom called to tell me. I immediately requested the next two days off from work, planning to go to Madison as soon as possible. I ended up spending Wednesday doing chores to get caught up at my house and then headed to Madison that night so I could spend Thursday at the hospital with my parents.

Wednesday night, Mom filled me in on the details of his accident, including the laundry list of injuries he sustained. Both bones in his left leg were broken, which included a compound fracture (bone came through the skin). His left thumb was partially dislocated (subluxation) and two of his fingers were broken. He broke his sternum and 20 ribs (he likes to boast that he was going for the record). The bridge of his nose was broken, leading to some nice bruising that made it look like he was rocking purple eyeliner. He had some relatively minor road rash, as well as some other bumps and bruises. And he hit his forehead enough to need some stitches and have a mild concussion. Seeing as he wasn't wearing a helmet, he is insanely lucky that was the extent of the damage to his head (and that he's here to tell the tale). 

As for the accident itself, the details were - and still are - pretty sketchy. We know he was making a left turn when he went down, and was less than two miles from home when it happened. Other than that... We're just not sure. There were a few witnesses who gave statements (one said she saw a car run him over, but the others didn't mention anything about that), and Dad has some flashes of memory from the accident (he thinks he remembers seeing the bike sliding away from him). Mostly he remembers a woman who sat with him while they waited for the ambulance. He says she was wonderful. She made sure someone called 911 and she stayed calm through the whole ordeal. He has no idea who she was (he couldn't really turn his head or body to look at her as she sat with him), but he'd love to thank her. So would I. 

There's a LONG road to recovery ahead of us. I'll share some details of that journey later. For now, just know that he's going to be OK. That's the only part that matters.

Crime Time: Girls Just Want to Be Dumb

So this is clearly turning into a Thursday post. Sorry about that, but some of the reports aren't updated until sometime on Wednesday. 

Anywhoozles, here we go! 

Some of this week's best come to us from some very special ladies...

A woman, age and residence not released, was arrested for fraud after attempting to have a fraudulent prescription filled at Walgreens, 6020 W. Brown Deer Road, at 9 p.m. May 23. She said the prescription for Promethazine with codeine cough syrup was for her nephew. This cough syrup is often mixed with Mountain Dew or Sprite to make "Purple Drank" a drink that causes people to get high. 

Your nephew. Right. Seems legit.

A woman, age and residence not released, was arrested for disorderly conduct after yelling and using profanities at Great Clips, 8689 N. Port Washington Road, at 4:50 p.m. May 23. The woman was angry, she said, because she couldn't get "a perm." She frightened other customers and two young children who were in the salon. She drove away but was stopped.  

Honestly, they were just trying to save her from herself...  

A woman, age and residence not released, was arrested for disorderly conduct after yelling and using profanities while in the drive-thru and inside McDonald's, 8737 N. Port Washington Road, at 2 p.m. May 26. The woman was in the drive-thru while on the phone and when asked either to order or move on yelled "Shut the (expletive) up" to the employee. She then parked her car and went inside where she continued yelling. When another employee asked her to be quiet she said, "I'm a grown person and can speak how I (expletive) want."

What the (expletive), man? This is a grown (expletive) person! How dare you ask her to be quiet, you (expletive)!

A woman, age and residence not released, was cited for disorderly conduct in the 1100 block of East Capitol Drive at 10:15 p.m. May 26. The woman, riding her bicycle on the sidewalk, stopped and started yelling profanities and making obscene gestures.

While it was probably the profanity and obscene gestures that did her in, I think Hubby might argue that worst part of this crime was that she was riding on the sidewalk.

An officer who pulled a vehicle over after observing it had only three functioning tires and was smoking from under the hood arrested the female driver for drunken driving on Main Street and Pilgrim Road at 4:22 a.m. May 29. After taking the woman into custody, the officer found two lorazepam tablets in her possession and she was also arrested for possession of illegally obtained prescription medication. Her blood alcohol content was unavailable.

All kinds of special. ALL kinds.

Now, don't worry, fellas. We've got some for you, too!

A man, age and residence not released, was arrested for disorderly conduct after yelling profanities inside Kopp's, 5373 N. Port Washington Road, at 4:30 p.m. June 1. The man became angry when he tried to order a shake and was told he had to get into another line. He then yelled and screamed with children present and also threatened an employee. He fled on a motor scooter but was stopped telling police he had "anger issues."  

Though they seem fun, and it might sound like a good idea at the time, remember that motor scooters don't make good getaway vehicles. (Though in his defense, if I'd already stood in line and then got told I had to stand in another line just to get my damn shake, I'd be pretty pissed off, too.)

Two unidentified people took several bushes from Aldi, 4615 W. Layton Ave., on May 28 and drove off.

Two weeks ago it was trees and dirt. Last week it was gardening tools. Now it's bushes. Someone's going to have a lovely evil lair when all is said and done!  

A man was arrested for aggravated battery at a home in the 7200 block of South Shepard Avenue after he threw a pair of grass shears at a woman, causing a 2.5-inch cut on her left wrist and a 1-inch cut on her left thumb that required stitches at 8:40 a.m. May 27. The man was angry because the woman told him to clean up food he had left on a patio deck.  

That's a totally normal reaction, right? No? Shit... I've been going about things all wrong then!

A resident at an apartment building at 2613 University Drive called police at 4:47 p.m. May 29 to say his neighbor took his dog's feces from the woods near the complex and put it on his doorstep with a note stating clean up after your dog. The caller said he feels he does not need to clean up the feces because he hasn't for three years and thinks his neighbor is harassing him. Police advised him he does need to clean up after his dog. The neighbor was advised on leaving feces and profane notes.

Admitting you haven't been cleaning up your dog's shit for the past 3 years isn't the best way to start your defense. Honesty is a good policy, but silence is also golden... 

And my favorite one this week: 

A resident reported that a couch she had put outside her home for anyone to take was sitting in Greenlawn Park, in the 7700 block of South Howell Avenue, at 12:50 p.m. May 26. An officer spoke to a man who was sleeping on the couch, who said he didn't think anyone wanted the couch and decided to take it to the park to take a nap. The couch was moved back to the residence so it could be picked up by the Street Department.

It was there for the taking! No one specified WHERE to take it, right? The guy wanted a nap and there was a free couch; who wouldn't take advantage of that sweet deal?!

Back to Life, Back to Insanity

I'm pretty sure that one of the only times I'm actually sane is when I'm on vacation.  Particularly at Disney World.  There's something within my brain that clicks when I'm there, and there's this beautiful realization that being a Disney nerd is not only acceptable, it's encouraged!  No one's going to judge me when I cry during Wishes or squeal when I get to keep my menu from Cinderella's Royal Castle.  It's more than a vacation from work; it's time spent in my own true reality.

So I'm sure you can all imagine that I'm missing Disney pretty badly right about now.  I actually started missing it before I even left, since my bestie and her hubby left before we did.  Hubby was the first to note that it felt kind of sad walking past their room, knowing they weren't there anymore, and I had to agree.  We didn't leave the property for another hour or so at that point, but I already missed it.

Of course, that doesn't mean I can't re-live the experience!  Here's a taste of how things started.

Fri, 3/2/12

Hubby and I left the house around 3 to drop the puppers off to be boarded.  It broke our hearts, and we have vowed not to leave her again for a good, long while, but it was our only option.  As we drove to the facility, the rain/sleet combination turned into ginormous snowflakes.  Thank goodness we didn't leave any later, or things might've gotten ugly.  As it was, we saw 3 or 4 accidents before we were even out of the Milwaukee metro area!  Regardless, we made it safely to Indianapolis and stayed at the Hilton for the night (thanks to Hotwire).

Two things of note in Indy.  1) People seem to think that temps in the 40s is damn near unbearable.  You can't imagine how many people were whining about how cold it was.  Hubby and I were in sweatshirts going, "Uh, we just escaped a blizzard...  This is nice."   2) Downtown is almost as confusing as downtown Madison.  There are one-way streets EVERYWHERE, and some streets aren't labeled (or at least weren't labeled very well, since we never found the street signs).  Not cool, Indy.  Not cool.

Also, the Hilton, not as swanky as you'd hope.  Low quality TP, beds weren't that comfy, and TV channels were limited.  That aside, the room was really nice, especially for the price.   

Sat, 3/3/12  

We left around 9:30 or so and headed on our way to Atlanta.  While driving, we actually went past one of the towns in Indiana that was hit hardest by the tornadoes, Henryville.  You hear about the destruction on the news, and you see a picture or two, and you think, "God, how awful!"  But when you actually see the devastation...  It's a whole different feeling.  I started crying.  There were semi trailers that were ripped open, buildings flattened, cars overturned, paint stripped from houses...  And that was just what we could see from the interstate.  We didn't even realize what we were coming upon until Hubby noticed some guys at a nearby rest area dressed in full fatigues.  National Guard was out to help people, and boy was help needed.  

Driving past Henryville really slowed us down (not just because the town itself was nearly destroyed, but because people had to stop to gawk), but soon we were back on our way.  I took over driving at some point and eventually we got to Atlanta to I and K's house.  They took us out for some awesome BBQ at Fat Matt's Rib Shack and then we talked and relaxed for a few hours before heading to bed.  The bed there was the best we had during our entire trip, if you can believe it.  And they have such a great house!  We're already trying to plan a road trip down that way so we can visit again. :)

Stay tuned for more...

Las Vegas to Milwaukee: Points of Interest

Hello, dear readers!  Hope you're all doing just peachy.  I don't have time for an extensive retelling of my recent road trip, but here are some points of interest in a brief recap!

Thursday night, 6/16: Though non-stop flights are less hassle, I was reminded that four hours on a plane next to people I don't know in a seat I can't possibly get comfortable in is not one of my favorite activities.  

Friday morning, 6/17: Spent my birthday morning in my pjs watching TV (huzzah for Degrassi reruns on The N and Family Guy on DVR!).  It may sound boring, but it was pretty glorious.

Friday afternoon/evening: Celebrated 'Chranksgiving' with K, S and some of their friends.  It's essentially a combo of the best foods of Christmas and Thanksgiving, but in the summer.  Who says turkey should be a winter food only?  My contribution was cutting up bread for the stuffing and picking my own birthday cake.

Friday night: Spent about $30 at Red Rock Casino.  God, I love penny slots.

Saturday, 6/18: Waited for K to get packed and headed out.  K drove the whole day, since I'm not as familiar with mountains.  We drove from Vegas to Denver.  Dinner that evening was a bag of M&Ms.

Sunday morning, 6/19: Headed to Rocky Mountain National Park!  My first trip there (and only my second nat'l park).  Seeing so much snow in June is a bit of a mindf*ck.  Loved it.  It even snowed on us in the park!

Sunday night: I drove from lunch in Loveland, CO to our hotel in North Platte, NE.  I drove in some epic rain.  I was just taking it slow, doing what I needed to do, and cars kept pulling over and throwing their flashers on.  It was crazy!  K decided we should stop for gas at the next exit and wait some of it out.  About 30 seconds after that suggestion, we started getting pelted with hailstones.  Ended up parked along the side of the interstate for 20 minutes, and spent another hour at a gas station in Brule.  I got us safely to North Platte after that, earning some major respect from K.

Monday, 6/20: Got to see the Kool-Aid exhibit at the Hastings Museum!  Drove part of the afternoon, and we got into West Des Moines around 6, the earliest we'd reached any of our destinations.  It was nice to have an evening to relax.

Tuesday, 6/21: West Des Moines, IA to Milwaukee, WI.  Stopped along the way to see a giant wooden nickel, the future birthplace of James Kirk, and the world's largest truck stop.  Sleeping in my own bed was like Heaven.  

Summary:  Had a freakin' great time!  But there really is no place like home. :-D

Impending Snow of DOOM!

I missed Moronic Monday yesterday.  I know.  Sorry, yo.  I sort of had something, but it was WAY too serious for my usual MM posts, so I nixed it and just didn't get back to it in time.

Anywhoozles, in comes the blizzard that may bury us all.  Well, maybe not.  But if they're anywhere close to right, we'll be getting what I refer to as a metric shit-ton of snow over the next few days.  Such is life in Wisco, but that doesn't mean I have to be pleased about it.

While I don't personally have to go out in the snow (one of the perks of working from home), hubby does, and I worry about him being out there with all the morons who forget how to drive each time it snows.  Things like this tend to happen...  Not good.

Here's hoping everyone stays safe and warm for the next few days!