Odd Days: Confession

I have a character flaw. It might have cost me my first marriage. In fact, it was during said marriage that the flaw became apparent to me, although it's conceivable that it was apparent to others long before.

Early in our marriage, H#1 and I took a recreational trip to Reno during one of the winter months. Lots of ice and snow. We exited a casino late one night and were walking to our car, when all of a sudden H#1's feet flew out from under him and he did a flying plank, landing on his back on the sidewalk, with his skull hitting the pavement a nanosecond later.

I did what seems to come naturally to me in these situations, I burst into peals of laughter. Mind you, he was not moving. And yes, it was possible that he had died on impact. Like I said, it's a character flaw. And like I said, we are now divorced.

Flash forward 40 years. Day before yesterday, I went out to get the mail. It was windy, but not atypical. With mail in hand, I turned to go back toward the house when a mighty -- and I mean MIGHTY -- gust of wind blew me right out of my shoes. I am not exaggerating. I went up, my shoes came off and miraculously I landed on my feet again although there was a stone under one foot which made me howl. Meanwhile, my shoes were blowing toward hell or highwater across the great plain that is our front yard, so off I went in pursuit -- through the stones, the prickles, the broken branches, the rabbit poop.

Some time later, I caught up with my shoes and gingerly made my way back to the house. I opened the front door, and what do you think I found in the foyer? I'll tell you. It was Durf, doubled over in laughter.

This particular flaw must be contagious. Either that or Durf wants a divorce.