Head Injuries

As far as I'm aware, I was never dropped on the head as a child. Of course, I probably wouldn't remember such a thing even if it had happened. But the other day, for some reason, I was recalling just how durable my head really is.

Incident #1
Growing up, I had a tree house. It began as a simple platform between three trees, seven or eight feet off the ground. Then we added railings, and then a small enclosure, though really the important information is that it was seven or eight feet in the air. We found in the woods a heavy metal pipe about as long as we were tall-- three or four feet. This pipe was heavy, old and rusted.

The pipe was a good piece of weaponry when we made war with the kids up the street, so we usually kept it in the tree house, on the platform. One afternoon I was standing there beneath the ledge of the fort when all of a sudden the metal pole came falling from the sky. It hit me hard across the side of the head. I believe there was blood.

Incident #2
Back in elementary school I took the bus. Perhaps this is where my hatred of buses comes from. In either case, on a cold winter day there were was a frozen patch on the road. It was always fun to "skate" around on the ice with sneakers. Apparently, I lost my balance.

I fell backward fast and hard. I can remember the sound of my head hitting the pavement. Though there was no blood, I can recall a bump for a few days.

Incident #3
I was playing pee-wee soccer like any good suburban kid one Saturday afternoon when something happened. I don't remember exactly what, whether it included the goal posts or just the ball or the hard ground. I do remember though spending a few hours in the Doctor's office waiting to find out if I had a concussion. I also recall that it was not the usual pediatrician, but instead some other smelly old man I had never met before.