Читать книгу Becoming a Counselor - Samuel Gladding T., Samuel T. Gladding - Страница 13

Chapter 1
The Trike, the Porch, the Dare, the Air: Gravity Wins Again!

One of the situations that ended disastrously for me at about the age of 4 was my attempt to tricycle down the front steps of our house. This incident was not entirely my fault. An older boy, Bill G., who lived down the street, persuaded me it would be fun. He even put my trike on the landing at the top of the stairs. Our house was brick and had eight concrete steps leading up to the front door. At the bottom of the steps, on either side, were two concrete barrels about 2 feet high. I have no idea why they were there. In any case, on that summer morning with my trike on the porch landing, I climbed the steps, got on, and began to pedal. I may have pedaled twice, but it was probably only once, for after the front wheel went off the landing, gravity took over. I do not remember much about the ride other than being surprised as I went over the handlebars and landed on the concrete barrel to the left of the steps.

Screams broke the silence. My mother came—I am sure with a horrified look on her face—as blood flowed from my injuries. It was then off to the doctor’s office where I was patched up and returned home. I spent the rest of the day inside. Amazingly, my tricycle was not damaged, but I did not ride it for a week and then only on the sidewalk.