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Lying in a bed, careening down hilly Topdown Drive with one broken leg tied up in traction is not exactly what Hal had planned to do today. How he got there is still a bit of a mystery. (Well, it’s a mystery to most of us…you know, normal people who try to avoid doing dumb things that cause pain.)

It all started just like any other day…well, any other day that a kid finds himself lying in bed with his broken leg in a cast tied up to some contraption to help it heal right and not hurt so much. (OK, so it wasn’t like most other days.)

Hal had broken his left tibia. That’s the bigger of the two bones in his lower leg, the one in the front that most people call their shin bone. Turns out that trying to ride a bicycle on top of two skateboards down the very steep Topdown Drive isn’t such a good idea, especially when there are cars around. Who knew?

Fortunately, the hospital was just a short trip back up, right at the top of Topdown Drive.

His failed Guinness Book of World Records attempt was now over, but his days in a cast had just begun. As he lay in bed trying to figure out where his genius had failed him and why his left leg was now hanging in the air tied up in what Doc Yan called “traction”, he had no idea where this day was headed.

Suddenly, his brother Sal came sailing into the room, shouting, “Bro, I’ve got it! I’ve got it!”

Hal, a bit startled, jumped just a bit and yipped from jerking his leg and the pain that jerk brought.

“Oops, sorry, Hal. I didn’t mean to make you jump,” said Sal as he settled some. “I was just so excited ’cause I found it. I found your record!”

Hal’s mood brightened. “Really?” he asked, with a sudden loss of memory for recent record-setting attempt problems.

“Yep, and this one’s a sure thing,” said Sal. “All we gotta do is change the plan just a bit. Instead of a “bike-on-boards” thing, we go with your current set of wheels.”

“Huh?” replied Hal with a complete I-don’t-get-it look.

“Bro, bro, bro…you’re lying in your new record-setting vehicle,” Sal said. “Next time they wheel you outside for your daily fresh air routine, we just gots to roll it on out a little bit further…”

“Right out onto Topdown Drive!” interrupted Hal excitedly. “I get it…aw, cool!”

As you can probably guess, the rest of the story wasn’t very pretty…

…although the new cast, on Hal’s right leg this time, was a lovely shade of blue.
 

Dr. Gregg
Posted – April 10, 2012