August 8, 2006
We live in a dangerous world, especially when we get in a car. A good friend of mine was driving to Tucson last month and I'll let him tell it:

"For those who didn't catch the details, I was in a head-on collision on I-10 near Tucson on Sunday, July 9. A motorist headed in the opposite direction lost control of her vehicle, spun across the median, and exploded out of the brush right in front of us leaving no time to stop. We were going 75 mph and flipped three times. I was knocked unconscious and pinned inside the truck. Eventually, emergency workers were able to free my feet and pull me out of the back window. After getting early treatment in Tucson, I was air evac'd up to Banner Baywood Hospital in Mesa, where a foot surgeon had been recommended.

"The good news is that my son Drew, who was riding with me, not only stayed awake through the whole thing, and survived in fairly good shape (broken ribs, abrasions and stitches), but even rendered aid to me and others involved in the crash, as well as coordinated with 9-1-1. I'?m mighty proud of him!

"My left foot and ankle were crushed and broken in many places, I had breaks and dislocations in my right foot, facial abrasions and stitches to my chin, 4 cracked ribs, 2 compressed vertebrae, more stitches to the knee, etc. My lower half is still pretty black & blue and there are lots of metal plates and screws in my feet. I've had a couple surgeries on them thus far and will be having more in the coming months."
—Bob Henschen

Driving to Tucson has become very messy with bumper to bumper all the way (it's 105 miles), so it's essentially city driving at 75 mph. Ouch! Makes me sigh. The top secret writer and I were on that highway at about the same time and the driving out there is ridiculous.

Planning three more trips in the coming weeks. Fortunately I'm going north to Prescott, then Pinetop and Fort Apache, then Wichita at the end of the month.

Woke up last night at three in the morning with excruciating back pain. Rolled around and beat myself up mentally. "I'm a crappy artist," "I'm so ADD I can't even post my drawings without going off on a sidebar about Napoleon Dynamite which doesn't help the top secret project one iota and I stayed up until ten doing it." Stuff like that.

Woke up at six and Kathy gave me an Advil, a cup of coffee and a free therapy session.

"I'm okay and doggonit, people like me!"
—Stuart Smalley