Hello from the corner of my study,

Last Saturday afternoon what started out as a normal wonderful afternoon of riding the Harley took an unexpected turn . . . the turn was a swerve to keep from going off the road and crashing my Sportster. The result was multiple broken bones in my face, broken fingers on both hands, a laceration that exposed my skull, and serious abrasions. Two ambulance rides, more trips to surgeons this week and upcoming surgery tomorrow to put pins and other hardware into my left hand. That being said, "I feel blessed." I was not wearing a helmet and if I would have been going faster I am not sure I would ever enter another word in this blog.

Life is fragile, and from time to time, I seem to be given poignant reminders of that fact. Likewise, I do believe we are provided care through a variety of mediums, most of the ways we neither see nor perhaps understand, but nonetheless, they (he or she) are (is) there. In the first minutes after my accident, I was tended to by an EMT that "just happened" to be at the resort I was at. She was quite wonderful. While in the Bloomer hospital, one of my former students actually stayed there with me. To hear that familiar voice as they worked on me did more to calm me than one can imagine.

When I was transferred to the hospital in Eau Claire, an amazingly talented facial surgeon with an outstanding bedside manner was available to operate on me. Since that time, the outpouring of support from colleagues, friends, neighbors, and students has reminded me that angels often are the people we see and walk among every day.

I have been so richly blessed throughout my life with wonderful people. It is for those reasons that I cannot do anything else than give back . . .  to do less seems ridiculous to me. It is difficult to type with broken fingers on each hand, so I will keep this short, but thank you to all of you who have sent emails, messages, called, provided food, rides or visited. I am grateful to you all. I am blessed by so many angels, and while I am still somewhat frail, I am recovering and trying to keep up. Not a pretty picture, but here I am.

Thanks and bless you all.

Michael