A tree falls, a beloved friend dies, you total your car. Sadness, grief, and a body slam, all in a close time frame. The 300-year-old oak tree falling was sad to see; sadder stil was watching its stately companion whittled down to 30 feet and a couple of branches in hopes it would live. My body is not broken, just bruised and everything hurts. All I can do is hope to heal. ER exams, X-rays and blood draws say I’m okay. The nurses and staff say yes but you’re going to hurt like hell. I wish that sequential time period hadn’t happened. I’m used to less challenging challenges, ones that challenge my skills, my place in the world, not my active body and brain that manifests all that. In physically compromised protest, I raised a fist halfway, winced and vowed, come hell or high water, I was going to publish the Friday, June 10 edition of The Canyon Chronicle.