Thinking back on the 46 years since June 11, 1971

Friday, June 11, 1971, I was sideswiped, as a pedestrian, by a city bus in Minneapolis. I had been on my way to meet a friend for lunch.

One minute, I was standing on the sidewalk, waiting for the light to change; the next minute, or so I thought, I was flat on my back in a hospital ward.

A nurse came over to me, my family in tow. She had one question: Did I know who those people were? I thought that an odd question. "My parents and sister," I replied, and passed out.

I do recall asking my mom, while I was still in the hospital, why my chest hurt so much. Like any mom, she peered down my gown. She saw bruises and went to find out their cause. I slept. Later, she told me that the ambulance people had had to restart my heart by pounding on my chest. That was news to me. I have, thankfully, no memory of the accident or having to be revived that way.

Oh, nothing was broken, though I had a badly bruised left foot, and a mark on my left temple. The doctors told my parents if I had been hit a little more in one direction I would have been blind in that eye, a little more in another direction and I would have been dead.

It was never resolved as to what exactly happened to land me in that hospital ward. I was released on Sunday, June 13, to complete my recovery at the family home.

On crutches for a few weeks, wearing a bread wrapper on my swollen foot, I even got to spend some time serving as a Bible camp counselor. The kids did not take advantage of the situation.

The Lord graciously gave me 46 more years of life that day, years I have begun to reflect on. Future blog posts will expand on this.

As Proverbs 16:9 put it: "The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps."