The story

If you know Claren, you'd understand at once.

I realize she is more and more frequently at the bottom of things that I do that might seem a little rash. But again, if you knew Claren, you'd understand that, too.

She was romping around in the snow and I was throwing a ball to her. But I threw it poorly and it landed on the picnic table and disappeared under the snow.

The table is about four feet off the driveway. I had the lacrosse stick for throwing the ball, but I knew I'd still have to drive into the snow. I felt good about my chances, though, especially after I partially uncovered the ball and persuaded Claren to do an "up" on the table and grab the ball.

Needless to say, my good feelings were incorrect. Almost as soon as I started backing up, my wheels started spinning.

I called my little sister, who came out immediately and started tugging my chair back to the driveway. She didn't get very far. Then she found some planks of wood and tried to pull the chair up on to them. That was not a really help, either. Finally, she went in to get Dad, who I love but had not called him because he knows Claren but wouldn't get it. Well, he might get it because I suspect Dad feels my common sense gets ignored a lot. He'd be right.

Anyway, my sister returned with Mom, and Mom pulled and my sister pushed me back to safety.

My sister says I owe her.

She forgot to mention how I was a bull's-eye for giddy little children who insisted they were having so much fun as they heaved big ice snowballs at me. Despite my best efforts to cover up, one hit me in the bridge of the nose, staining my glasses with blood. As if that wasn't bad enough, my little sister's husband laughed and cheered when he saw the bandage Mom had put on my face.

Unfortunately, I suspect she is right. I do still owe her.

P.S. This took an extra long time to publish, not because I was watching Lost, but because I went to the bathroom before I posted and while washing my hands I sneezed and my forehead hit the faucet and farther back on my head smacked the faucet handle.