About that Bloody Drill Bit Stuck in My Arm

Filed under: Uncategorized — Bob at 6:58 am on Tuesday, February 7, 2023

by Robert M. Katzman © February 6, 2023

Hey John,

Thanks for your advice

About opening

A stuck glass jar lid

With the tip of

A sharp knife

However…

In my Maligned

Slice of the Universe,

Where Evil is Dominant

and

Wariness is Constant

I am certain the

Tip of the blade

Would break off

Ending up

Imbedded in me

Like half of a

Jagged drill bit

Did in 1999

When I was drilling a

Hole in a book rack

Hit a hidden knot

The bit broke in half

Plunging deep

Into my right

Forearm muscle

Blood gushed everywhere

But less than if

I pulled the broken bit out

I knew a Doc/Friend

5 miles away who

Would see me right away

If ever I was in trouble

He took care of the wound

Cleaned it

Taped it up

Sent me on my way

I returned to the store

To finish the book rack

Always good to

Have spare bits

When ya break one

So, yeah, John

I appreciated your advice

I know you weren’t

Expecting this

“Other side of the tracks”

Real world response

The lesson?

Good to have friends

Who really care about ya

When you fuck up

Yet again

Just make sure

The door swings

Both ways

When that

Same Friend

Comes calling

On You

***

A note about this memory, this moment.

Many responded to my difficulty with opening jars with one hand, after I fell on my left wrist on January 27, 2023, smashing it on black ice.

Nice that people cared. Facebook has become a community of unmet souls who seem both close and far as some seek a connection.

But one suggestion offered triggered a reservoir of strange dialogue from me.

I forgot about it and recently happened across it.

___

So odd, the words, like a brief visit from my dark side shoving me aside as I am now, to say it like it was then.

The grim tone of the words fascinated me, arriving unsummoned.

I wasn’t trying to entertain the guy, just respond.

But his suggestion triggered a bad memory, I guess and the words just flowed.

Like a key to an unopened cobwebed covered door.

___

Imagine, if you will, driving five miles west from the Morton Grove, Illinois Magazine Memories store in 1999 to a stripmall, where my friend the old Doc had his clinic, just east of the interstate 294, with blood dripping off of a wound in my arm where the 3/8 drill bit was sticking up.

I held my arm up to lower the blood pressure, since at 49 I was long experienced about pain and damage to my hands and arms.

___

The blood slowly dripping on my shirt and pants as I stopped for red lights, traffic moving slowly in rush hour.

Seemed to take forever, the way Time slows down when the pain is surreal and there’s no way to make the world turn faster.

___

My subconscious must be too crowded, that moments like this one were forgotten until some stranger’s words were the key to open that particular door and this tough memory tumbled out.

___

The door to my known past is both rock-solid and semi-permeable, offering up unbidden nuggets as it decides what I need to remember.

Like it wants to test me.

As if it is saying,

___

“Oh ya think yer tough, huh? Ok smart guy, well, how about remembering this moment from yer past. Had enough yet?”

___

My answer today at near 73 is, yes, I have had enough.

Please–Stop now.

As if.

**********

Publishing News!

(Currently seeking representation as a speaker/poet for hire)

Bob Katzman’s two new true Chicago books are now for sale, from him!
Vol. One: A Savage Heart and Vol. Two: Fighting Words

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If a person doesn’t want to use PayPaI, I also have a PO Box & I ship anywhere in America.

Send me a money order with your return and contact info.
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Here’s complete information on how to buy my books:

Vol 1: A Savage Heart and Vol. 2: Fighting Words
My books weigh almost 2 pounds each, with about 525 pages each and there are a total together of 79 stories and story/poems.

Robert M. Katzman
Don’t Go Quietly Press
PO Box 44287
Racine, Wis. 53404-9998 (262)752-3333, 8AM–7PM

Books cost $29.95 each, plus shipping

For: (1) $3.95; (2) $5.95; (3) $7.95; (4) $8.95 (5) $9.95;(6) $10.95

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I am also for hire if anyone wants me to read my work and answer questions in the Chicago/Milwaukee area. Schools can call me for quantity discounts for 30 or more books. Also: businesses, bookstores, private organizations or churches and so on.

My two latest books are available in the Racine Wis Public Library. Both books are labeled: 921 KAT. ROB on their spines, in autobiography Dept.

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Comments (3)

3 Comments »

435698

Comment by charlie newman

February 7, 2023 @ 8:37 am

Ace work, Bob. As usual…

435699

Comment by Brad Dechter

February 7, 2023 @ 8:37 am

No offense meant, but I like the postscript as much as the tale. “As if” was a great ending!

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