Friday, July 1, 2011

Friends advise me to stay indoors

What people like Madeleine and Dédé are actually saying is that I should think twice before stepping out onto the slopes of Choranche equipped with a chainsaw. I remain nauseated by thoughts of what happened to me the day before yesterday, and traumatized above all by thoughts of what might have happened to me. So, I ask my readers to forgive me for not going into details. Let's summarize by saying that I made four huge blunders, simultaneously:

1. I went out onto the slopes to cut wood, without informing anybody of my intentions.

2. I failed to carry my iPhone with me.

3. I used my chainsaw to slice through a branch of a fallen tree, without realizing that the branch in question was keeping the huge trunk in equilibrium on the slopes.

4. When the huge trunk started to roll towards me, I was on the wrong (valley) side.

I prefer to refrain from describing the hour-long terror of being pinned beneath the trunk, and screaming for help. My Choranche neighbors Michèle Berger and Jackie Ageron were directly responsible for saving me. I enjoyed on-the-spot treatment from my wonderful doctor Xavier Limouzin, and a group of friendly firemen from Pont-en-Royans, followed by a ride to the hospital at Romans in the back of an emergency vehicle, followed by X-rays and medical examinations.

Today, I have almost recuperated all my physical faculties, and I'm thankful to be alive. No bones were broken. Just a few sore bruises. The dogs, too, seem to express their gratitude for my continued existence. Tineke and Serge have been like guardian angels.

I realize that there are certain "ordinary" activities at Gamone that must be banned totally, permanently. Thankfully, I love to work in front of the computer in my bedroom.

2 comments:

  1. What can I add? I am shocked about what happened to you and hope you'll take your own advise from now on!

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  2. Merisi: For several days, I was greatly shocked (in a clinical sense) by this accident. I've talked a lot with friends here about what exactly happened, and I think I've been able to control the trauma. In a nutshell (it was a walnut tree that pinned me to the ground), I had never really understood that logs of all shapes and sizes are capable of rolling dangerously on the slopes of Gamone, just as boulders are capable of crashing down. From now on, I'll be wary of anything that happens to be lying around on these slopes.

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