On Dangerous Projectiles

I spent the afternoon officiating the discus throw at a high school track meet. It’s a good side gig. The athletes call me sir and the coaches always make it a point to say thank you for helping out. I even got a t-shirt and a barbeque sandwich out of the deal. The only thing I don’t like about judging this particular event is getting hit in the head with the discus. Don’t worry; it’s nothing a little ice, a couple of aspirin and a cold beer won’t cure.

Speaking of getting hit in the head with dangerous projectiles, my nephew was once shot in the head by an arrow. It was Christmas morning. My nephew was screwing around with a bunch of kids and one of them had a bow and arrow. They were seeing how high they could shoot the arrows. One of those arrows fell from the sky and embedded itself in the top of my nephew’s skull. Although the whole thing was a horrific bloody mess, the kid wasn’t seriously injured. They say the top of the skull is remarkably thick. I wasn’t on the scene that Christmas morning, but I picture my nephew with the arrow sticking out from the top of his head just about every time I see him.

What’s the point? If you’re going to judge the discus throw or stand around while people are shooting arrows into the sky, you should probably pay attention. About that ice, aspirin and cold beer…