Today started out great. I found my TomTom in a bag that I searched throughly twice earlier. I’d been looking for my TomTom for days and on Friday came to the conclusion that I just was not meant to have a GPS device (an earlier one was stolen from my car).

Today was also a film group day. I’d seen the film, so just went to help out with tickets. I got there early and talked with a number of patrons as well as the manager of the theater. We had a large number of people show up – always a good thing.

At ten I left the theater started to walk to my car. I crossed Woodmont and was stepping up on the curb in front of Barnes and Noble when I tripped* and had a spectacular fall, landing on my nose and the right side of my face. I felt my glasses bend and grit scrape my cheek. My first thought? “Gee. I hope no one saw me!”

I rolled over on my side and sat up. No such luck. A crowd of concerned Bethesda folks were asking me if I was ok. I think I said I was, then noticed the blood dripping off my nose. Someone handed me some tissues, then a car stopped, someone got out and gave me about 50 tissues. She then went back to the car and got me some “wet ones”. Those stung my face. The car left and a police car pulled up and the officer asked if I was ok and if I wanted an ambulance. Another woman asked if there was someone she should call. I gave her our number, but I’ve taught the kids not to answer the phone if they don’t recognize the number. Oops.

The policeman asked if I wanted an ambulance again, just so they could check to make sure I was going to be ok. I finally said ok. He told me to sit back on a bench instead of the ground where I’d been sitting. The woman with the phone kept trying to get through, and finally Clare answered. The woman gave me the phone and I told Clare that I needed Dad to come get me from Barnes and Noble because I fell. She gave the phone to Dean who promptly asked if I crashed the car. When I told him I fell, but thought my nose was broken he said he’d pick me up, so I told the police officer he could cancel the ambulance. (I most certainly didn’t want an ambulance contributing to the gawk-producing spectacle)

While waiting for Dean the police officer gave me some sanitary gauze, someone else gave me a box of tissues. I got lots of second glances. Another police car stopped to chat with the one police officer. That was causing more people to look my way.

Dean finally arrived, pronounced my nose possibly broken and took me to Suburban’s ER where they didn’t give me stitches (but super glued my flapping nose skin together) and where X-rays showed that my nose was not broken. Good news.

It doesn’t hurt, really. The scrapes sting a little and my nose is tender to the touch.

I look a mess though – and am told it will get worse. Maybe when it gets really ugly I will post a photo. Yeah, right.

*I think I misjudged the height of the curb. I was wearing glasses – which is unusual for me to wear them out of the house.