Yesterday was cray (cra?, kray?, crazy!). The day started off like any other typical day in Aspen. An easy start at the house which is full of family. Prema's brother Matthew and his wife Christine are here from Tucson with their son Benjamin. Benny (Benji, Ben, etc.) was up and at it and seemed willing to stay with Ammachey and Appachen while Matt and Chris rode bikes into town with Prema and me. We wound up at one of our favorite places, Main Street Bakery, which is a bakery located right on Main Street. We arrived uneventfully and met up with Prema's other younger brother Jacob and his wife Caroline and their kids Lily, Simon and Anna (Shmana, banana, etc.).
After a nice breakfast we mounted our trusty bikes and headed back to the rental house. It was on this journey home that the day went cray.
Prema was leading the procession and I was bringing up the rear, about a minute behind. As I approached a now infamous location I saw Matt standing astride his bike but I couldn't see Prema. As I slowed to a stop my heart nearly stopped as I saw Prema on the ground, whimpering with blood dripping from her jaw. (Spoiler: everything is OK, in the big picture).
Long story short: apparently the post you see here jumped out into her lane resulting in a direct collision. It remains unclear exactly what happened but after a minute of uncertainty we called 9-1-1. Many passersby stopped to offer assistance but it was just a few minutes before a policeman (Richie) arrived and a few later the ambulance and a couple of deputies. While the paramedics were attending to Prema I made sure no blood had splattered onto my bike and then secured our bikes to the offensive post. Matt and Chris continued on home and I got to ride in an ambulance!
We went to Aspen Valley Hospital for evaluation. We were in the ER for about four hours and after some scans, x-rays, IVs, blood tests, ultrasound, Dermabond/steri-stripping, and more, we were happy to learn that no serious injuries were sustained. Right now Prema is enduring jaw, chest wall, and left wrist pain like a champ. I wish I could have taken the fall for her though I doubt I would handle it all so well.
As Volaire's Pangloss would suggests, the events of the day could not have been any different as they were the best of possible events. Of course he is cra! BTW, we had just seen the opera Candide the night before. But we did meet a bunch a really nice people during the ordeal and are happy that we will all carry on.
Moving on...
Last night I stayed home with Prema while others attended what I was told was a beautiful performance by Daniel Hope and the Aspen Festival Orchestra at the Benedict Music Tent. We are fans of Mr. Hope having seen him in years past here in Aspen and especially since we saw him a few nights ago at Harris Concert Hall where he performed Max Richter's remix of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. That was way cool. Here is a shot of Mr. Hope with Jamuna, Maya and Lily.
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