I’ve never been seriously injured. Thankfully, neither one of my children have had any serious injuries, either.

Some people will read that and shrug their shoulders saying, “So what?” Others will read that and mumble, “Lucky bastard” under their breath. I guess with some people it’s just the luck of the draw.

While scanning some late-night television recently, I came upon one of those “World’s Worst Sports Injuries” shows…or something similar to that, anyway. I usually don’t have the stomach for that type of television so I didn’t plan on watching too long. Out of the blue, before I could change the channel, I saw a poor football player’s leg bend in a way that it’s not intended to bend.

It took me back to the one time I ever really hurt myself…(insert creepy flashback music here)

It was the early eighties and I was in the sixth grade.  To really date myself, I was out on a Friday night at the local roller-skating rink.

Yeah…I know.

Just picture this only with small children, a dark "arena", cheesy lights, and even cheesier music.

I wasn’t much of a skater. In fact, I was slipping and sliding all over the place. It probably didn’t help that I never owned a pair of roller skates before in my life and, much like a bowling alley, I had to rent the shoes once there.

Picture it if you can…

…people roller skating around in a giant circular motion…Total eclipse of the heart and Billie Jean playing over the loudspeakers…couples holding hands…and scattered throughout this throng of people were a few others like me, flailing around wildly like a freshly-caught fish thrown onto the bottom of a boat.

It was sad, really.

Every time I fell down, I braced my impact with my hands. I mean, I was never the biggest fan of pain and I certainly didn’t want to get bruised butt-cheeks that night. But then it happened…

I fell down…CRACK!!

I immediately felt the pain. The pain was unlike the other times I fell down. And what was worse is that one of my favorite songs was playing and I couldn’t skate around to it: Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant.

I slowly made my way over to the skate rental area and called my parents. My mom picked me up, took me to outpatients, and found that I hadn’t broken my wrist…just cracked it severely. A light cast and an aspirin later and I was on my way back home.

The moral of this story? Meh…I dunno. But I do know that I’m very fortunate to have not suffered any serious injuries. I also know that I’m fortunate to not have had to go through a situation where my children were seriously injured. I don’t take that for granted.

I also make sure I stop whatever I’m doing and enjoy the sweet, soulful sounds of one Mr. Eddy Grant whenever “Electric Avenue” comes on. You can’t take dreadlocks and a Jamaican beat for granted, either.