Last night I could have died.

See, that's not supposed to sound as dramatic as it does. Really, though, it was the first thought that came to mind.

This is how it went: I got out of a long day working at this gallery I am working at for the holidays. I was in a rush. I was supposed to run to a client to drop of some work I had wrote for them at one place and then drop of some cards I made for another client and then meet up with my friends back in my neighborhood. I had my ipod ear in one ear and I was checking voice mails in the other. As I was whipping around some slow walkers I turned the corner on the sidewalk and BAM!!!!!!!

Pause. In Chicago and probably cities in the mid-west there is this phenomenon called "Snow." And "Snow(we capitalize for the dramatics here, people.) turns into slush or mush or my personal favorite... ice.
But, I know you're thinking... "oh, he's totally going to say he slipped and fell or ran in to someone or..." Stop. You're not there. Because, also a phenomenon in the mid-west and in Chicago are these tall buildings that have many floors and if you look up... are close to the sky.

These buildings hold snow which when it rains and gets colder turns to ice... and as it melts... it falls from floors and floors and heights and then land... some place.

There are these signs on the sidewalks that will tell you: "Watch for falling ice." But as a Chicagoian for six years(Happy Anniversary Chicago!) I have not once seen this happen or have had it happen to me...

Until last night.

As I turned the corner a giant slab of ice fell on top of me. It felt like glass. It felt like books falling from shelves and then it felt like I was going get dizzy and fall myself.

A gaggle of old women were walking by with shopping bags in arms. I don't remember much of the incident, but I remember one of the old women running over to me and screaming "YOU POOR BABY!!!" But then I saw a few spots and stumbled on to the sidewalk got woozy in the stomach and closed my eyes. All this happened in a seconds.

The old woman shook me and I stood straight again. "Do you need an ambulance! Shirley! Your cell phone! Call someone!" I looked over to who I thought was Shirley and shook my head no.

"No... I think I'm OK."

But I wasn't. Sure. I was physically ok(That's sorta a lie... I was blurry for a bit and had a huge headache), but I wasn't mentally OK. It was sort of a reality check. A sign. A brick across the face kind of thing. I am going to admit this as long as this stays here and all over the internet... I still think I am invincable.

You know that thing you are when you are a kid--naive and believe nothing bad can happen to you... only to others. Yeah. I still had that mentality. Sure. I know we are all going to die and things can happen but it's not until it hits you in the head when you realize you've got to get it together. "It' being perspective.

As I rode the bus home skipping meeting clients and just wanting to be with my two friends, I sat next to a girl listening to hear ipod adding two plus two and trying to remember old addresses and phone numbers to triple check if I was OK. But I was also thinking about waking up. Slowing down. And seeing the big picture.

The big picture would be a law suit. I could totally own that hotel right now. Totally.