Walk to the Arc de Triomphe
Source: https://www.meisterdrucke.fr/
The ones I remembered today, which I’ll save for last, are very different from the three C’s my mother used to talk about.
In her kindness, she always said that visitors would always find those three C’s in her house: catre (read: bed), comida (food), and cariño (love). I try to follow her example.
But today was something very different.
In my quest to be more sociable, I decided to join a hiking group in my new community.
At 9:30 am sharp, I was at the meeting point. There, I introduced myself to my new neighbors, who gave me a warm welcome to the group.
We started the hike, chatting animatedly.
The group went ahead, and I stayed behind, chatting with a woman originally from Morocco. That’s what I always admire about my adopted country, the wonder of meeting people from all over the world.
Anyway, focused on the hike and our conversation, I suddenly saw my new friend flying next to me.
The poor lady tripped on a step and landed face-first on the sidewalk.
She lay there for quite a while, face down, dizzy and crying.
One of the women in the group called an ambulance, which arrived in a few minutes and took her away.
The group continued their walk as if nothing had happened. I apologized and went home, still in shock.
Anyway, a very unfortunate first experience socializing. Later, I was told that my new friend had only suffered minor injuries and a broken toe.
Falls at a certain age can be quite serious. From now on, I’m going to be much more careful, especially in these areas that aren’t so familiar to me.
And about the promised other three C’s, those are used by my brother, the doctor. He says that what finishes you off at a certain age are the three C’s (in Spanish): Falls (caídas), colds, and I’ll leave the last one to your imagination…
