I took a fall... a complete face plant yesterday. The sole of my shoe got caught on the light rail track on 4th Street in San Francisco. This is a two-lane-in-each-direction street with a track in the middle. I landed on my face, lifted my head up, and realized I was completely flat on the tracks. This made me stand. A young couple came up to me gasping, and after "Oh, no," said, "Are you all right?" I said, "No, but I will deal," and hurried towards the sidewalk. Odd that I hurried, as that is what got me flat on my stomach on a busy street in the first place. Another person, as I crossed and made it to the sidewalk, asked if I was okay... by now I was covering my bleeding face with one of my triangle scarves that was comforting to hide behind as if someone had handed me a hankerchief. I also said no to him, but I will deal. The first time in my life I've said to two strangers, I am not okay.
A fall is jarring — if you are not too hurt, embarrassing; if you are hurt, you are completely focused on assessing the damage. I am not sure if I have ever felt more grateful, because in the larger picture I only have a scraped nose, a swollen thumb, knees, and a fat upper lip.
I wonder how long the lesson to not hurry will last. Phrases like "That is when accidents happen," or "What is the rush?" or "Why do you have to cross the street as if you are in Manhattan?" come to mind.
I walked to my car in the parking garage and headed to urgent care. The man who checked me in asked me why I was there. I told him what I had told you, and he said, "Don't worry, I have the feeling you will be going home today." Oof, that got me... kind and perceptive of him to say, as I was worried about my car getting towed and what would happen if I had broken my nose. Here are some of the things the doctor who examined me said. She was thorough, kind, and has a very hard job.
“There are two doctors on duty today, a family practice physician and an emergency room doctor. I am the emergency room doctor, and you are lucky you got me.”
“Everyone falls; it does not depend on your age. My bathroom has four grab bars in it; there is no way my bathroom is going to take me down.”
“If your nose is broken, we will do nothing. We cannot, but later you will have plastic surgery.” It is not broken.
“Take Tylenol; it will help immensely.”
“Tomorrow it will be like a car accident; the day after is worse than the day of.” This is not true in my case.
I loved her.
And today my gratitude is overriding everything going on this sunny Saturday in San Francisco. I feel pretty darn good.
Here is the sign in the bathroom. Yikes, (I did not put my hand in the toilet).
Here is my AI policy, this seems important.
I use Claude for grammar and punctuation only... I'm clear with it, no content changes allowed.
I am trying the cottage cheese pizza crust recipe that is flitting around because the bags of almond flour from Costco are big. Here we go.
1 cup cottage cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
4-5 grinds of black pepper
3/4 cup basic pizza tomato sauce
4 ounces fresh mozzarella
1 roasted pepper sliced
Be free with the parmesan
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 400°F.
Blend the crust base: Add 1 cups cottage cheese, 2 large eggs, 0.5 cups almond flour, 0.5 teaspoons salt, and 0.3 teaspoons black pepper into a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth.
Spread and bake: Spread the mixture onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes
Add toppings: Remove from oven and add tomato sauce, mozzarella, and toppings of choice
Finish baking: Return to the oven 5-10 minutes… briefly until cheese is melted, then slice and serve.
And here is my big, for moi, announcement here in newsletter land. I am working on a book, and the 10-12 hours a week for more than a decade I spend on this newsletter is ending. I will still Substack, but not within the Wednesday and Saturday schedule I have kept to. Think of it as a break for your inbox.
All my love from my glass desk,
D
P.S. Feel free to subscribe if you are new here. I will still be here just more weirdly unexpected.
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