The Dangers of Modern Travel

Some people worry about the dangers they may face when they travel, and so they seldom go on vacation, preferring to spend all their free time at home.  Some people are afraid of flying, which limits them to land-based travel, and the destinations they can reach in their available free time.  I’ve never particularly feared leaving home, or flying.  My philosophy is that we all face dangers every minute of our lives, and it’s usually the dangers that seem the most innocuous that end up causing us the most pain.

On our weekend trip to Lancaster, we stayed in a plush hotel, and had a comfortable room.  A dividing wall separated a living room area from the bedroom.  The placement of the wall left a narrow walkway on each side of the bed.  At the foot of the bed sat a dresser, atop which rested a TV.  As our bedroom at home is small, I’m using to getting up at night, navigating narrow walkways, and making several turns, until I reach the bathroom.  But this was a bedroom I was unfamiliar with.

I did fine our first night in the hotel.  But after our tour of Edwards Air Force Base, the first time I got up that night, I walked forward a few feet, and BAM!  I crashed into the dresser.  I had injured the middle toe on my right foot a few weeks back, and it had taken awhile to heal.  Well, I had just slammed my right foot into the dresser!  So, after sitting on the edge of the bed for a few minutes (and having awakened my wife from the impact), I turned on the light, walked to the fridge, and got a cold soda can to hold against my foot.  We were planning on hiking the next day, and all I needed was for my toe to start hurting and swelling up again!  My wife felt more attention was necessary, so she got dressed and left the room.  When she returned with the ice bucket, she made a cold compress using a few ice cubes in a plastic bag.  I held it against my foot for a while, and my wife gave me the small flashlight she had brought with her, in case I needed to get up again.  Then we turned off the light and went to sleep.

The second time I got up that night, my first thought was: avoid the dresser.  So I rolled out of bed, placed my feet on the carpet...and slammed into the divider wall.  Not only that, but the light switch dug into my scalp as I rose.  While my head ached, the overhead light didn’t come on, so I couldn’t have hit the switch with much force.  Nevertheless, my wife heard the impact, turned on the light, and asked me what had happened.  “Nothing,” I told her.  Then I lowered the hand clutching my head, and saw blood on my fingers. 

At least the ice in the bucket hadn’t all melted yet!

The following night, I slept more soundly, and only had to get up once.  Nevertheless, that time I remembered to use the flashlight before I even lifted the covers, and thus sustained no further injury.  Forget about car- and plane-crashes: the real dangers of modern travel include such terrors as dressers and light switches!

Dragon Dave