Props To The 13th

I had an awful scare yesterday.

Now, I'm not talking about life and death, necessarily. I mean: how climactic is it, really: losing a cellphone?

That's woeful sarcasm for ya.

For starters, I won't lead you on: I got it back. Someone found it right after I dropped it, evidently not seeing me lose it, and turned it into the police later last night. Also, I have a screen lock on it, so I wasn't all that worried about my data being messed with.

However...I have not had phone service for going on nearly a week, and so was utterly unable to track my phone.

I spent three trips, and that much in gas, going back and forth to check out the same 50 or 60 yard strip, to no avail.

Admittedly, when my earbuds cut out, and I discovered my phone missing, I looked back up the hill, and I must have seen someone bend down and pick something up. Why in the hell I didn't run straight back up to see if it was my phone takes several points to, quote unquote, justify:

• I weighed it against leaving the area I was in immediately, in the event that my phone was closer to me;
• I felt it wasn't fair to that person that I just come barreling up at him potentially "unannounced";
• There is some part of my brain that honestly does not care, and refuses to stir me to action--a part that undermines me immeasurably more often than I perhaps dare to internalize to crystallization;
• I was more confident that my phone would simply sit there untouched, as it was picked up within a literal 30 seconds of my having dropped it, and assumedly it would have been seen falling from my pocket;

I'm not sure if that is everything in a nutshell, so to speak, but it certainly covers some of the bases.

Nevertheless, my fallacy and almost comforting ignorance brought me heavy of guilt and loss and thought, hard to sleep, and waking up at 2:30 AM, arrested by this (literal) cold, unpleasant feeling of immeasurable loss and awful terror, dreading--and virtually unable--to go back to sleep.

Fortunately, I had my license snug behind the phone and visible in the case, and had not only stopped by the police station and given the officer my mother's number

(more on that another time, lmao, I have to ask her in more detail how she felt about that XDXD...probably within a handful of times a cop ever called her, or anybody, about faux-goody-two-shoes me in any regard)

but had finally tracked down a cruiser and talked with the officer about my situation. I awoke the next morning to word that she had, in fact, gotten my phone back through the police.

I cannot say my relief was physiologically or even psychologically explosive, but it sure as hell was fantastic news to hear.

*

Now, I have only had one real accident during my years quasi-parkouring around the town, despite probably having a few near misses. I got a concussion 18 months ago which became the end of the line (by choice) of drinking alcohol for me (not that I was drinking when I slipped off of the metal bike post and conked my noggin, mind you--I simply used the fear of the potential new effect of alcohol on my psyche--most likely grossly out of proportion--to get myself on a healthier path), which was really the worst that ever happened.

And then there was yesterday, bounding across four, five foot wide sidewalk squares at high speed, both earbuds in, incognizant of my phone slipping out of my The Nightmare Before Christmas pants (CURSES!!!)

Yeah. Slippery feckers, where the pockets are concerned. Not as shallow as a pair of shorts I have, too, but certainly not deep enough for a bounding runner-jumper to not worry terribly about!!!

I love the pants, though. Do not get me wrong!!! \m/,, :0D .\m/

Anyway, that's just a story I wanted to tell, for obvious reasons. I could have turned out a hell of a lot worse, in several respects. However...goodness prevailed, and luck prevailed, and my restored faith in strangers and the Universe, to a point, has prevailed.

If I could just get a way to secure my phone better when I go leaping....

:0=

:0}

:O]

* *

And, of course, thank you So Much to law enforcement officers, the gentleman (or woman) who did the right thing and returned my phone (helping me kindly in the process; thank you so very much), and to my mother and family, all for helping my phone back home to me. I love you all so much.