So when did you last have 'playground knees' ?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I can’t remember the last time I fell over (well, while stone cold sober, at least). Falling over under the influence doesn’t really count - you bounce much better, and the ‘beer as cotton wool’ effect seems to protect you from serious injury.

Today was a bit different. I tripped over a recklessly discarded rake in the garden. I was in full, purposeful-marching-up-the-path mode at the time. During the initial split second I thought ‘Oops, that’ll be the rake then…’ This was immediately followed by the ‘OMG, I’m going to fall over’ moment. I had no option but to run in a vain attempt to try and catch up with my torso. Time slowed. I was fairly sprinting by now, but was reaching the critical forward angle from which there is no graceful recovery. Windmilling frantically (and I do a good line in windmilling, being 6ft tall), I crashed and burned. I could think of nothing else to say, other than the one word that I uttered at an alarming high volume. It is not a word to repeat in polite company. Realising by now that I had not only skidded on hands, knees, and an elbow, but I was now wallowing in a bank of brambles/blackberry cuttings. The single word was repeated a few more times as I tried to extract myself.

Upon examination, I had skinned my elbow, both hands and had numerous thorns and scratches. Through the wreckage that was my favourite pair of trousers, my knees looked like hamburger meat. So here I am, 38 years old, with the kind of scabby knees a 7 year old would be proud to show off.

So how about you? When did you last have ‘playground knees’?

2

one day at work, i was heading back from lunch, and of course, it being lunch time i was late. so there i am hurrying along, i didn’t notice that the floor was a bit damp–no not damp, soaking wet! lot of good those yellow “wet floor” signs do, maybe break your fall. so of course, there is that certain moment when time sort of stands still and you realize the inevitable is about to happen, you know you can’t stop it but you still try. i went down. there i was flat on my ass in an alien department. the first thing you do is check for any snickering witnesses. phew, coast is clear. then you assess the damage. oh man, thats blood, i must have hit my nose on something, probly the wet floor sign, and i think i have blackened my eye! so the question now is, how do i make it back to my work station in my bruised and bleeding condition. of course you can’t hide a bloody nose and the black eye spoke volumes. in my injured state i couldn’t think of a plausible lie as to how it happened so within minutes of my return all my coworkers were well aware of my incident. to this day, whenever i am leaving the department for whatever reason, i am told to “watch your step” and “be careful now bacon, its a jungle out there”.

3

Right now. Yesterday I was taking something off my car when I fell on the driveway. Right knuckles and right knee got scraped. Ouchies.

4

About two months ago about 15 friends and I got together for a rousing game of kickball. For some reason, I was motivated enough to attempt diving catches, headfirst plunges back to first base to avoid being thrown out, and other assorted acrobatic feats.

All on infield gravel.

Fortunately, the scabs have faded, but the scar on my right shin from three years ago was simply reinforced.

5

I pick up a lot of knee and elbo scrapes from playing squash. Generally, I’m pretty laid back, but there’s something about that little black ball… must DIVE…

I usually have a couple of good falls during the biking season as well, but so far I’ve been lucky this year.

6

Um, does rugburn count? :eek:

7

I have them today - last week I tripped on the curb getting off the bus.

8

Jogging 8 years ago. I hit a bump in the sidewalk and went flying.

9

I literally feel everyones pain right now.

10

Four months ago. Slipped on a patch of ice on my way to work.

11

Twenty-three minutes ago I picked them up playing volleyball.

12

A year and a half ago. Fell down pushing a car uphill. Since I was the strongest person out of all those pushing, I was lucky it didn’t roll back onto me. Along with the scraped knees, I got some nice bruises and some chipped cartilage that still hasn’t healed.

13

Nearly eight years ago. Slipped on some leaves that had fallen on the slope of a curb. It could have been worse, since I fell out into traffic, a car missed me by a hair’s breadth.

14

Bizzare! Iwas thinking about this very topice yesterday while cleaning my 6 year old sons’ skinned knees --bike crash, rollerblade crash, soccer, and baseball all in the last four days.

I was smiling as I winced with the pain of my sprained ankle (playing soccer—hole on in the ground obscured by grass- foot went in- I kept going) in the knowledge that I hadn’t skinned my knees like that in years. The last time was when I was hiking, I was climbing up a fairly good incline, slid and went down for about 30 feet…that was pleasant!

15

I fall down almost every day.

I am the clumsiest person alive. I need to be put in a padded rom for my own safety.

I walk into doorframes, trip over the legs of chairs, knock into desks, knock things over when seated at a desk, and smack into walls. I trip over small children. A co-worker once said watching me navigate a room is like watching a remote-controlled car piloted by a blind person.

My body is covered by bruises. I have one on my thigh the size of a grapefruit which came from ramming into the arm of a wooden bench as I walked by. The one I have on my shoulder came from not correctly judging the distance between my body and a door frame. I clipped it at full speed. The one on my knee came from when I tripped and fell * up * the stairs at work. My doctor actually asked me if I was being physically abused last time I went to see her.

Nope, and I have plenty of witnesses to prove it. My co-workers are continually amazed as I blithely drift into walls and furniture. “Lissa! Door frame at two o’clock!” We’re building a new annex which has a glass wall. There’s already an office pool going, betting how many times Lissa will crash into it during the first month.

And guess what, folks!? I work in a museum! Yes, I carry around fragile, priceless treasures! There have only been a couple of casualties, due to the extreme care I use when carrying something. Usually, I’m able to absorb the blows without hurting the artifact. I once fell down the stairs from the attic while carrying a glass lamp. I was a bit worse for wear, but I saved the lamp. (It was a scene reminiscent of Homer rolling along the road, holding aloft the box of junk Marge had tried to give to charity.)

If I’d just pay attention to my surroundings, I’d be fine, but my mind is usually occupied by work assignments, or I’m running over research in my head, mulling it over to see if it fits in with the history we know about an item or event. Sometimes, I’m thinking about extremely obscure trivia, writing a story in my head, or thinking about the herd of cows I saw yesterday. Regardless of what it is, I’m a daydreamer who gets so wrapped up in her thoughts, she forgets to watch out for obstructions in her path.

16

[oh my lord, oh, help me help me, oh jesus, oh my LAWD, help me…my SHOE] When I was 29 I fell down a flight of outdoor, concrete, floating stairs. I had deep raspberries on my spine, elbows, knees, ear, cheek, SHINS, heels of hands, plus two ripped-out nails. At 29. [/oh my lord, oh, help me help me, oh jesus, oh my LAWD, help me…my SHOE]

Apparently, my wife finally broke down and joined the Board. Hi, Sweetie.

17

…and strawberries. I had a veritable Summer Salad. (stupid language barrier)

18

I had “playground knees” the last time I was on a playground. Which was, if I recall, last week. :smiley:

19

5 years ago.
Running to catch the bus to work (reason number #6158 I hate public transportation). Destroyed a suit (completely ripped through the knees of the pants and the skidded on the cuffs of the jacket. It was one of my nicer suits, too.)

Stupid driver saw me, (I know) and still wouldn’t wait.

So, yes, the worst scars on my knees are not from childhood - but from when I was 24.

20

Just this morning whilst playing tennis. I lunged for a volley that I knew I wouldn’t get and ended up skinning my left knee. Won the game though :smiley:

Prior to this morning? A couple of years ago, perhaps…