Erik's Bad Leg...

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Ever notice how large the pores are in concrete? Neither did I. But that’s just what I was thinking as I was laying there in the rain face down, arms out forward, holding on to the crutches that apparently don’t grip wet ground very well, trying to compose myself from the pain of having my toes bent around the top of the cast that is holding my broken right leg together. It’s now 5:45 am and Captain Erik is on his way to work.

"Life moves by quick. If you don’t stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it." That’s what Ferris Bueller said all right. My recently broken leg (from a vacation to Yosemite park) has afforded me ample time to reflect on just how good it is to not have a broken leg. Living in these islands has been the greatest thing I’ve ever managed to pull off. But even here complacency sets in and you wind up thinking things like "If I see another dolphin today I’m going to freak out". You may think I’m crazy but the longer you live somewhere; the greener the grass gets on the other side. It’s human nature to want more and more. Yet I never knew for example that 3 hours of hopping around at a Jimmy Buffett concert on one leg in a shoe you haven’t worn in four years would make all your toenails fall off on your good leg. Or that the floor in the bank is actually quite slippery on crutches when it rains. (Man that was embarrassing!)

All of this was brought to my attention as I was singing a normal cocktail cruise at sunset a few weeks ago. It was a horrendous crowd that evening. I’m not sure if anyone aboard knew that there was live music on the boat. If you happen to be a musician you’ll definitely feel my pain. Alas, crappy nights happen just a sure as the good ones do. As I was singing away I was thinking to myself how dumb everyone was and how this was a dumb career move and how I hate blah blah blah… Just then, a guy from Ohio comes up to me in between songs and says, "Man, you have the greatest job! You get to sit here and watch the sunset, drink a few cocktails, play your music, AND get paid to do it!" Well that guy hit me like a ton of bricks and I realized just how right he was. All of a sudden the colors in the sky came alive, the water looked bluer than ever before, and it hit me; this is the life! And what a great life it is! And I can’t help it if no one here has any taste in music! Haha! Bartender!…

Right now I’m staring at my feet, the cruise is over, and the lights in my head are just now coming back on. I hear voices yelling and feet running around. Someone must have had an accident or something. I get the sensation of lying on my back oddly enough. Now the crew is looking down at me asking if I’m ok. I say I was just trying to hop into the men’s room. Let me see, I hopped to the door, grabbed the door ledge, hopped over the step… Now I notice that I’m still holding the broken door ledge that has apparently come completely out of the termite-ridden doorframe. Goddamn termites!

Of course sometimes my stories have no conclusion or point or even topics, and most of the time I figure it out as I come to the end. Yes, the grass might be greener on the other side but it’s just probably because it rains more over there. Sometimes we do have to stop and look around once in a while or we in fact do miss it. I just wish I could figure it out without a trip to the hospital.

Erik

P.S. One of you e-mailed me this picture and I couldn't stop laughing for an hour or so. Apparently some people take their soccer pretty seriously. And they get an early start!

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