The Hungry Sidewalk

On the way to the market to get some carrots, I had a little accident. Thankfully, Mike was there to save my life. The sidewalks here require constant attention, since they don’t usually match up very nicely. If there isn’t traffic, it is usually easier to walk in the road. I was walking behind Mike as we headed out. As I walked across the cement plates covering the pipe access (see picture), my leg was consumed. That’s right—the road ate my leg! The last person to replace one of the cement slabs made sure that two of its corners were secure. Unfortunately, I stepped on the side that wasn’t secure. My left leg entered the hole in the ground between the slabs, then the loose cement slab closed in on me. My knee was pinned between the secured slab and the one that I stepped on. The rest of me fell forward. I’m not sure if I screamed or not (knowing me, I probably did), but Mike turned around and saw I was trapped. I was wearing a knee-length skirt and sandals, which I am sure made it all the more amusing for the witnesses. I’m sure if I were stuck there long enough I could have figured a way to move the cement slab, but for the moment I was pinned awkward enough so that I couldn’t pull my leg out, or turn around to attempt to move the block. This is where Mike makes his heroic entrance. He lifted the edge of the stone up so I could pull my leg out and then replaced it to prevent future accidents. I held back the tears as we continued on to the market. Though it was painfully initially, I made it through with only minor scrapes and bruises on my legs and a little boo-boo on my hand. The slab closest to the bottom of the picture is the one that collapsed. My leg was caught between this slab and the one in the middle.