A Ride To Remember
A Miraculous Survival Short
by Rob BowenIt was a day like any other day. I awoke, prepared for the day, and commuted to work. Nothing memorable, right, so what's he writing about?
Well, you are right. The day wasn't something that one would enter into a diary with the idea of saving a moment forever. Yet the title would lead you to believe that something was to come, and come it did.
Listening to my headphones and working with my Palm Pilot, as I did each ride on the train. I was startled to realize that we were stopped at my station and needed to get off the train in a hurry. Here it comes! In my haste I did not have time to safely store my electronic devices and wouldn't you know it; I tripped. Not enough to make me fall, but enough for the instinctive reaction of putting your hands out for protection. At that very instant I saw it, a sight that any Palm Pilot owner would cringe and look away from. In the air was my Pilot. Tumbling and twisting in a fashion that would have been elegant if it had been a graceful trapeze artist, but it wasn't. It was my Palm Pilot and there was no net. Frantically trying to regain my balance in time to sacrifice my body for that little plastic and electronic gizmo. As an onlooker, it must have been quite strange to see this person scrambling for what looked like a book. You would have thought that my life depended on it.
To my horror I did not reach the Pilot before its decent and inevitable contact with the floor of the train. But wait. It did not stop! As I was closing in on it, it lurched towards the stairs as if a ghost had given it a little kick just before I could get there.
I felt a dull thud in my torso with each bump the Pilot took as it crashed down the stairs. Spinning with enough force the "protective" cover flew off. Next the battery cover. Then the memory cover and finally the memory card it self. Picking up the pieces, literally, as a followed my Pilot down the stairs I thought to my self "This can't be happening. I only got the screen replaced a day ago. Why me, God? Why me?"
Standing on the station platform holding the dismembered device in my hands; the train pulled away. I was afraid to look at the unit. I could not have stood the thought of another cracked screen. I summoned the courage and opened my eyes. Noooo. I couldn't believe it could happen. The screen was completely intact. I put it back together and pressed the power button. Nothing. My heart sank once again. I put the unit in my bag and walked, head down, to my car, all the while thinking that this was it. I would have to break down and buy another Palm Pilot.
I got to the car and figured what the heck. I might as well try again. Its not like it can get worse. I patiently took it apart cleared any dust or debris that might have gotten inside during its fall and put it back together. To my delight it came on, I had lost my data, but that was OK, I had backups. The thing was that it worked. The screen was intact, there wasn't a scratch on it, and everything looked great.
I guess it couldn't happen again. I mean fixing the unit twice within a single week. Boy these little computers are tough. I have since gotten a carrying case that is more secure and religiously place the Pilot in its home when ever there is a chance of danger.