Gravity Always Wins
To be clear, this is not my story. It’s about two remarkable young women I met the other night.
This is about where I stepped into their story.
Every week at a local bar there is a trivia contest (more like Family Feud). There are usually twenty or more teams. Most are regulars (we are the Island Beats), but every now and again there are new teams.
Sitting at a table just across the dance floor from my team was a group of twenty-somethings (four women and one man).
Their team name?
Gravity Always Wins.
I thought that was a good name. It wouldn’t be until later that I realized just how great a name it was.
During the game, a woman from Gravity Always Wins dropped her team answers into the host’s basket.
I noticed her because she wore a t-shirt with ‘On Stall Rest’ written across the front.
After a few more answers were dropped, a member of our team (Chris) wondered what exactly ‘On Stall Rest’ meant.
“I should go over and ask her?” he mused.
He didn’t.
So, I did.
I walked across the dance floor to her table. She looked up at me, and I crouched closer to her.
“What does your t-shirt mean?” I asked.
She leaned toward me and explained, “When a horse is hurt, they put it on stall rest, or put it in a quiet area so it can heal.”
She told me that she and her friend both rode horses.
“And we are both here to celebrate the end of this past fucking year.”
The two of them looked at each other, raised their glasses, and shouted out a very loud “whoop!”
I asked, what happened?
“Well, my friend was thrown from her horse and broke her back. And I was thrown from my horse and broke my neck.”
She said it casually, as if she broke a nail.
Then the woman that broke her back showed me a video on her phone of when exactly she did just that.
It was horrific.
She was smiling like she was showing me a video of her opening presents at Christmas.
It was all very surreal. They talked about their accidents while they drank their drinks and danced in place.
I went back to my team and told them what the shirt meant, and why.
Periodically, I would cross the dance floor for more questions.
“Do you still ride?”
“Yes.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a nurse (neck), and she (back) still works with horses!”
Their enthusiasm after such life-altering events was infectious.
Back with my team, I spoke to Jackie, the bartender. I told her I wanted to buy a round of drinks for their table. A few minutes later, their waiter came up to me.
He explained that they were drinking specialty drinks and that they would be pretty expensive.
I assured him it didn’t matter. A few members of my team offered to chip in. Although I appreciated their offer, I turned them down.
It wasn’t about the money. It was something I wanted to do for them. It was about celebrating people who truly embraced their lives.
After the drinks arrived, the woman (neck) came over and thanked me for the drinks. I told her I was amazed at their positive outlook after all they’ve been through.
And basically, I wanted to help them celebrate the end of the past fucking year.
She looked at me, sort of tilted her head, and said, “Yeah, we’re crazy,” and half-laughed.
Toward the end of the game, three of them were on the dance floor. They moved around each other in a half-choreographed dance.
At the end of the night, I gave my card to her (neck) and told them about my blog.
This is my side of the story, and I told her I wanted to hear theirs. I’m sure it has more courage and strength than I could ever give it.
I hope I hear back from them, but until then:
Gravity may always win, but for my money, you women beat gravity’s ass, hands down.
