Almost Left Everyone Then

Poncho:

It was about 10 years ago. I was a young child who was enjoying one of the endless days of summer. I was laying on my belly on an burlap sack. It would have been the third time that I went down that old wooden slide on my stomach. This slide was a monster, probably about 100 years old and two stories high. I heard my mother yelling that it was time to go. I saw my little cousin, who was 5, sliding down ahead of me. I wanted to catch up to her. I wanted to speed down the slide faster that any of us did that day.

I did just that. I speed down the slide as if I was a piece of ice rolling across a frozen pond. With all the excitement, I almost did not realize what happened. I do remember how it felt though when it went through me. I reminded me of that time I step on that nail. It felt exactly the same. The pain did not compare to the shock. Who would of thought that a 9 inch long splinter would have pierced through my skin into my insides.

I think back to that moment in my life ever now and then. What if I did not change my mind at the last second? What if I went down on my stomach like I was going to? That splinter would of pierced my heart, one of my lungs or my stomach. I could have died.

It is weird how one innocent decision was important enough to determine if I lived or died. I was not faced with a decision of life or death, I was just choosing how I should slide down this slide. It was so much more fun on my stomach. Why did I not go down the slide that way, especially since it was my last chance to do so. It is weird. I just instantly turned around and sat on the burlap sack as if it was second nature to me. I can’t explain why I did that. I was already on my stomach ready to slide down. I mean just why or what made me not slide down on my stomach.

Can you imagine?, losing everything at such a young age. Everything that has happened to me since then, was a split second decision from not of happening at all. The people who have laughed with me, loved me, cheered for me, thanked me, appreciated me, and were happy because of me would of never even known me. It is just odd to think about…

-Dave