The stories behind the story

Since moving to the country, I have noticed that the "Police Beat" type articles in the newspaper have more meaning in a small city than they do in a large city.  An ambulance run report in Austin would be pretty simple because chances are the reader will never know what happened to "John Doe" or why he was being treated for cuts and bruises.  Was it a car accident?  Domestic Abuse?  Industrial Accident?  In big cities you never know that background story.  In a small city, it is quite the opposite.  Someone knows someone who knows something about what happened, therefore, everyone knows what happened.

As an example, last month there were two items that on first glance were minor run reports for the Volunteer Fire Department First Responders.

Dec 3rd - Ambulance response  to County Road 283 for non-life threatening injuries. Fire fighters had to break down a door to gain access to the patient, Dale (DB) Benson.  Mr. Benson was treated on scene for lacerations to the head, a dislocated finger and a possible concussion.

What happened to DB?  Through the grapevine I found out that DB fell while in the bathroom.  Turns out he was trying to solve a Sudoku puzzle while on the toilet.  He had been in there for quite awhile and DB's wife, Sarah,  got concerned.  She knocked on the bathroom door to see if he was okay.  This evidently startled  DB and he hurriedly got up from the pot, not realizing that his legs had fallen asleep.  While trying to stabilize on wobbly legs, he grabbed at a towel bar that gave way to his weight and he started to fall.  As the towel bar came loose, DB fell against the wall and slid along it in a long arc that ended when his head connected with the vanity. He laid on the floor, knocked out cold.  Sarah could not open the door and had no idea what happened so rightfully, she called the EMTs.

Word of DBs accident made the rounds and pretty quickly, everyone was aware of the incident.  Which brings us to the second article:

Dec 9th - Ambulance response to report of disoriented person wandering around in the parking lot of Delaney's Hardware.  The patient, Ronnie Till, was  found dazed and confused in the parking lot.  He was given first aid and transported to Lufkin Memorial Hospital.  Mr. Till was released after being treated for a minor concussion, and multiple hematomas.

The background?  DB Benson was in Delaney's having coffee and socializing with the guys that hang out there.  They were trading stories and telling lies, when Ronnie Till came running in with a Sudoku puzzle book.  Ronnie, yelled out, "Time me" and he started solving the puzzle.  Actually, he was just filling it in with gibberish, when he yelled out "DONE",, He looked straight at DB and asked "How long was that?  20 seconds?  That ain't so hard" and he started laughing, thinking he had pulled the funniest joke ever.   DB did not find it funny at all.  He screeched out, "Damn you Ronnie Till!" followed by a stream of obscenities as he started chasing after Ronnie. Ronnie ran for the door suddenly discovered that the Delaney;s door is a pull not a push to open.  He ran full speed into the door and fell back hard onto the ground.  The dull thud of his head hitting concrete made everyone shudder. Despite the shock of hitting the ground, he was able to jump  up, gathered his senses and ran at the door in an second attempt to get out of  DB's way.  This time, in his dazed state, he was off center and as he yanked the door open, he hit himself in the forehead with the door.  Everyone in the store started laughing, including DB who was doubled over and incapacitated by laughter.  That was probably for the best because Ronnie was wandering around the parking lot like a drunken sailor on the deck of a rolling ship. He wandered around the parking lot and occasionally talked to the coke machine out front.  Everyone kept an eye Ronnie as they waited for the EMT's to show up.

So, there is the stories behind the stories.

Maybe it is for the best that we do not know the back story of these reports.