I believe that Im a very lucky man. Im lucky to have two sweet children, a wonderful wife, two aging but healthy parents and many great friends. Im lucky to be working for KPBS and resuming my job as host of
These Day s with improving health, following a serious traffic accident.
Returning to KPBS has been a gratifying and interesting experience. It follows at least of month of rehab in which I was surrounded by many other people who suffered similar accidents resulting in brain injuries, both major and minor. I had six good weeks there. The only problem with rehabilitation, I find, is it requires you to focus on your own problems. By now, Im tired of thinking about my problems! Cant I start thinking about someone elses problems?
Some of you may know that I was hit by a car two months ago, while cycling to work on Montezuma Road. The accident gave me a concussion, put me in intensive care, tore a lot of flesh from my legs and its prevented me from doing my job since then.
In a way, the accident seemed profoundly unfair to me. After all, part of the reason I rode my bike to work was to do the right thing. It was supposed to be good for my health AND good for the environment, since I was taking a car off the roads. Getting clobbered by a car while riding my bike was the thanks I got for trying to reduce global warming.
Strangely, today I have no memory of the accident. I have no recollection of being hit, lying on the pavement or waiting for the ambulance to arrive. Maybe this is the minds mercy, blocking out distinct memories of pain weve received. In the press, we tend to view repressed memory as a negative thing. Ive learned that, sometimes, its natural and even desirable.
In my case, even the week following the accident is a lost memory. My family has told me fascinating stories about conversations I had with them and with my physicians, in which I was apparently coherent, listening and making sense. For some reason I have no recollection of those discussions.
For the past couple of weeks Ive been very limited in the number of hours Ive been able to work at KPBS. Ive felt a bit like an emeritus member of the These Days staff, since Im been around but Ive had not real ability to affect the show.
But now Im back on the air, returning to tasks Ive had eight years to polish. Its great to be back, though Ill be spending the first part of the return working part-time and not hosting the whole show. Im afraid this experience has reminded me of my humanness and my fragility. Ill be back to normal soon, but for a while Ill still be healing my body and recovering my old energy.
Maybe itll be good for me to view summer as a time of rest, just like it was when I was a kid. This Fall, Im sure Ill be jumping into the job just like I used to. In the meantime, thanks for the welcome back (Ive received a lot of them from listeners) and I hope youll keep on listening.
