Story Time!

I have a magazine writing class that I take every Monday. In it, we often break up into groups to workshop our pieces. We often end up talking about other things as well. On Monday, I told my group the following story which they said I should write my next article about. So, I have decided to try it out in “Blogland” first.

This summer I had to get my head stapled back together, which sounds awful. It’s actually rather humorous looking back on the whole thing.

I was walking up the slate walkway to the back door of a guy’s house who I had met a week or so early through a mutual friend. I knew this guy, Dana, liked practical jokes from being around him over the past couple of weeks. What I didn’t know was just how much, and nothing could have prepared me.

It was pitch black out. As I got closer to the door, I heard running. Suddenly, a giant gorilla appeared- Dana fully clad with ape head, feet, and body wearing a coconut bra and grass skirt. The “gorilla” flew through the air, apparently to give me a giant money hug. I fell backwards, landed first on the slat with my tailbone, and cracked my head against a jagged piece of stone.

I thought, “I’m sure I have concussion.” Thinking not of my own pain but of how embarrassed my new friend must be, I forced myself to jump up (probably not the smartest move). He rushed me into the house and yelled to his mom. “Amanda’s hurt really bad!” I insisted that I was fine as I held my hand against the back of my head. I removed my hand to find it covered in blood. We eventually decided I better go to the ER.

Dana drove me home to meet my dad for the first time and inform him that he had “attacked his precious daughter while dressed as a monkey.” My dad was surprisingly “cool” about the situation. My Marine Corp. brother threatened to tear “monkey boy” limb from limb, however.

At Urgent Care (I refused to go to the ER), the nurse found my story extremely humors. We chatted as the doctor came in and stapled the gash in my head back together while my dad and Dana bonded in the waiting room.

“Well is he at least cute?” asked the nurse.

“Let’s not loose perspective here,” I said. “He did tackle me to the ground wearing a monkey costume!”

Three specialists later (a doctor, massage therapist, and chiropractor), I can finally laugh about the whole thing!

---