I chose orange for the cast because Halloween was just around the corner. I was 51 years old and working in a school-aged childcare program. That fateful morning, we were playing a spirited game of kickball, and I had joined the losing team to help them in the outfield. An athletic 4th grader stepped up to the plate, the ball was pitched, and he gave it a vigorous kick. The ball went soaring just over my head – here was my chance to be the kickball hero! I put my hands up in the air to catch the ball when Thwack!

One winter afternoon, when I was 16 or so, my mom and I took a walk around our block. In the middle of an argument, we stepped off the curb, and I said something mean. Being a teenager, I was good at that. My mom whirled around and, as she did, she slipped, fell on the ice, and broke her arm.