Graceful Fall From The Terrace

I would like to share with you a freak but non-fatal accident that occurred to me during my youth (just crossed my teens).

It was Sankranthi day and I for once decided to stay at home and spend the day peacefully. I went up to the terrace and was gazing or staring at the colorful sky with kites all around, totally unmindful of my forward movements. Suddenly I slipped and fell from the edge of my terrace (face down) and landed in the garden of my neighbor's house. Fortunately, not much damage was done to me and I escaped with minor injuries.

I still remember vividly that following this freak incident, my immediate neighbors gave me first aid and were almost in tears when they saw my condition. This incident occurred while my Parents were on a foreign tour and none of my two brothers were around.

The first phone call that I received a couple of hours later, following the incident, was from my Dad. I was lying on my bed upstairs looking quite pathetic and did not feel inclined to talk to anyone, not because of pain but more out of embarrassment. My Dad joked "young man, what did you do to yourself, and what were you trying to prove". I replied immediately that I was not trying to prove anything but rather I was trying to understand or confirm Newton's theory of gravity and gravitational pull.

My Dad had a hearty laugh in his typical style and advised me not to practically try Newton's first law or principle again until he returned from a foreign tour.

Well, what a fall it was from terrace but not from grace. God is great and exists!