Karma Will Bite You In The... Knee?

I have a weakness.  I will always laugh at people falling down.  My good friends know this about me and still love me despite my inability to show compassion when someone goes down.  Don't get me wrong - I honestly worry that they might have sustained an injury.  I just laugh first, and when I can finally wipe away the tears and stop snorting, I will most definitely ask if said person is alright.

It has been this way since I was younger.  My college roommates knew that I would always catch them doing something ungraceful and I could not help myself but snicker.  Thank you America's Funniest Home Videos for providing many decades of hilarious falls.  Yes, I would even seek out online snippets of people falling every which way you could imagine.  And I would laugh so hard I could no longer breathe.  My favorite of all time has to be the Paris fashion show model going down, accompanied by some audio of newscasters who clearly share my weakness for falls.  That wheezing laugh you hear might very well be me.

Here's the thing though.  I think all these years of laughing at people has come back to bite me in the ass.  Or, more specifically, the knee.  Today anyway.  I walked into the building which houses my acupuncturist's office and immediately tripped over the edge of a mat that was right inside the door.  I went down hard - onto one knee.  Let me tell you, I know exactly how many pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure that created!  I hopped up quickly, looked around, and limped into her office where she helped clean up the rug rash that had appeared.  Nothing could be done about the immediate bruising and swelling.  As I lay there later, with multiple needles protruding from my scalp, I couldn't help but picture the scene as if I was an outsider.  I had to stifle my laughter.  I'm sure one would question my sanity if they were to hear hearty guffaws emanating from the otherwise serene, quiet room.  Quiet little snorts of laughter may have escaped unbidden. 

It's not just this one fall however.  I think I've gone down more than the usual number of times in the last few years.  At least one instance can be attributed to my Meniere's Disease and vestibular imbalance.  And maybe a few times were due to a smaaaallll bit of alcohol (probably).  But I have no excuse for the other times that I was just clumsy or ungraceful.  It's definitely karma for all those laughs that I shared at someone else's expense.  Has to be.  I mean, if you were to ask any adult you know how many times they've fallen - all the way to the ground - since they turned 30, the answer will undoubtedly be "zero".  

If in fact, you do know some people who have fallen more than usual, like me, then grab your video camera. Send me the footage any time.