HOW I LEARNED NOT TO STAND ON CHAIRS

HOW I LEARNED NOT TO STAND ON CHAIRS BY ZACHARY SINE

I REMEMBER, BACK WHEN I AGED AT ABOUT 4, STANDING ON A CHAIR. TO BE EXACT, A CHAIR WITH LONG POLES SUPPORTING THE BACK OF THE CHAIR. I REMEMBER HAVING MY LEGS TANGLED IN THE CHAIR POLES, NOT BEING WARY OF WHAT EVERYONE SAYS: “DON’T STAND ON A CHAIR. ” THIS IS A MEMORY THAT HELPS ME REMEMBER NOT TO DO THAT. ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE CHAIR FELL FROM UNDER ME! MY FEET WERE STILL TANGLED IN THE LONG POLES, AND I COULDN’T GET THEM OUT! MY PARENTS RUSHED TO THE SCENE! I STARTED TO CRY (I’M ONLY 4 AT THE TIME, SO DON’T CRITICIZE ME!!), SO MY PARENTS PUT ME TO BED. THE NEXT MORNING, I FELT LIKE I COULDN’T MOVE, SO I SHOUTED, “MOM, I CAN’T GET OUT OF BED!” SO MY MOM CAME IN. THE FIRST THING SHE DID WAS TO TAKE ME TO THE DOCTOR THEN SENT ME TO THE HOSPITAL, THINKING NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH ME, BUT HE SAID, “JUST IN CASE. ” SO I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL. AT THE HOSPITAL, THEY DID AN X-RAY ON ME. THEY SAID I HAD, INDEED, BROKEN MY LEG. THEY SHOWED MY MOM THE PICTURE. MY LEG ON THE PICTURE HAD A TWISTED FORM. THEY SAID I WOULD NEED A CAST. SO I WENT TO THE CAST ROOM. THEY GAVE ME A CHOICE OF WHAT COLOR I WANTED, AND I CHOSE BLUE (THERE WERE ONLY TWO CHOICES: BLUE OR BLACK).

MANY OF MY FRIENDS SIGNED MY CAST. BUT THEN THE TIME CAME THAT IT HAD TO COME OFF. THEY BROUGHT ME TO THE SAME CAST ROOM, BUT THEY PUT ME IN A DIFFERENT PLACE, A KIND OF BED LOOKING THING. THEN DISASTER STRUCK! THEY BROUGHT OUT A SAW. I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, THEY’RE GOING TO CUT MY LEG OFF! I DON’T REMEMBER MUCH OF THIS TIME OF DISASTER, BUT I DO REMEMBER IT STARTED TO TICKLE. IT’S COMING! I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, AND BRACED FOR IMPACT. IT TURNS OUT, HOWEVER, THAT I WAS ALLOWED TO KEEP MY LEG, ONLY IF THEY LET ME PUT ONE MORE CAST ON IT. THIS TIME I WASN’T GIVEN A CHOICE. THEY PUT A BLACK CAST ON ME. ALTHOUGH IT WAS BLACK, IT WAS BETTER, BECAUSE MY FIRST CAST COVERED MY WHOLE LEG. THIS ONE ONLY COVERED HALF. AFTER A WHILE, WE WENT TO VISIT MY GRANDPARENTS IN KELOWNA. WE, AT THE TIME, LIVED IN PENNSYLVANIA. I STARTED TO FEEL LIKE I COULD WALK AROUND, SO MY GRANDPA AND MY DAD STARTED USING PLIERS TO RIP IT OFF MY LEG. AND THAT WAS THE STORY OF HOW I LEARNED NOT TO STAND ON CHAIRS.