It’s 4:45 pm. The hard-working Mainer starts his way home, walking across the CVCA parking lot. There is some snow, and a little ice because the day was warm and some snow melted. Huh. The Mainer slips on some black ice. Tricky. Still, the dextrous Mainer stays on his feet. It will take more than one little patch of ice to bring him down. Still, discretion is the better part of valor, so the Mainer tries to stay on the crunchy ice that he can see. Ooops! Another black ice patch. Darn stuff looks just like water on the pavement, of which there is a fair amount. The parking lot slopes down at about a 10-degree angle, so it makes it hard to navigate over real ice. Still, the Mainer has survived 36 winters, most of them in Maine and Chicago. What can bad ole Ohio throw at him?

Three strikes, you’re out. Another patch of black ice and the Mainer is glad that he lands mostly on his forearm and manages to limp to the safety of the snow and make his way back home. If the Mainer had back problems, his back would not be happy about the sudden acceleration/sudden stop of his unplanned trip. Everything seems to be mostly okay except for his pride….