How Do You Slip on a Banana Peel Gracefully?

Have you ever slipped on a banana peel and fallen on your ass, said a minimum of three cuss words, and, perhaps, even broken a tailbone? Have you seen someone else slip on a banana peel and laughed your ass off until you realized they were hurt? Don’t worry. You are not an asshole for laughing. It is human instinct to react so thoughtlessly. I had to learn this in graduate school. Well, falling is funny. Have you ever seen Charlie Chaplin slip on a banana peel? My business card says, “I fall down for a living.” There is no joke about it. My most dramatic falls have been on stage or in a theater which has netted me a broken arm, a blown out knee, and, yes, a broken funny bone. The first time I shared my MS story on stage, I purposely tripped and dropped my walking stick. This stuff really happens to me and I wanted to show on stage what has become routine in my life. Well, my open mic friends didn’t know I had MS and were overly sympathetic. I started laughing. “It is all part of the shtick. Haven’t you seen Steve Martin fall?” I thought they were going to hit me. I am sure they felt manipulated. They have since forgiven me and let me back up on stage.
My favorite true falling joke: What goes bumpity, bump, shit? Mother falling down the stairs. When I told Jon, he laughed his ass off. Thanks Jon!
So how do you fall gracefully? You don't. The recovery is what is important. How quick can you get back up and save face? Sandra Bullock shows this well in the movie Miss Congeniality. “Okay, I’m up.” Sometimes, it is not so quick. Often, a bruised ego hurts more than the broken bone. When I fell in the theater, the students laughed. I am glad it was dark, so they couldn’t see my red face. That was the problem. Note to self: Don’t walk around in a dark theater. You never know what goes bump in the night. ME!
The ego can take longer to heal than the bone. OUCH! This is a new acronym I heard. LMF- Love My Faults. Learning to love oneself is a life long lesson. I had to learn how to forgive myself for my vulnerabilities, physically and emotionally and be gentle with myself. I had to learn how to trust again that the ground would rise up to meet me when I take that next step. My wish for you: The next time you put a smile on someone else’s face will be because you smiled first. By the way, I have forgiven Jon for LHAO and let him buy me a margarita. Salud!
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I still walk around in the dark. I love it and have done it since I was a kid living in a creaky house.
My other true falling down joke: How many Mexicans does it take to change the battery on a smoke detector? Two. One to climb the ladder and get electrocuted and fall off the ladder, and the other one to call 911. Glad my daughter is an EMT. In case you didn’t figure it out, I am the Mexican in the joke.
This story is dedicated to Jon who has had his share of banana peels.