These may look like harmless rolls of wire mesh, but when stretched out, waiting for concrete to pour, wire mesh becomes my heartless enemy.

Our love-hate relationship goes back a long way. Many decades ago we came to an agreement:

If I don’t walk on wire mesh then

wire mesh won’t trip me.

Well folks, today I was in a hurry and convinced myself that

I could do it. I could walk across the prepped driveway without getting tangled up in it. The wire mesh lay there calmly stretched out, only a few small humps and bumps here and there. It was almost quietly encouraging me.

Ignoring the still small voice shouting in my ear “don’t do it!”

I placed the ball of my foot

on the wire mesh itself (not inside the square) and haltingly made it across. Smiling with relief as I stepped out of the potential trap I chided the small voice inside “see, I can do it”. Job-site information was gathered then I headed back to my truck.

As I went to step across the form and onto the wire mesh the still small voice said “walk around, don’t do it!” But again I ignored the voice. My recent crossing victory had me feeling confident. Then my phone rang.

And ignorantly I answered it and kept walking. Wire mesh saw an opportunity in this distraction. My steps were no longer careful. One step inside a square and wire mesh grabbed my toe. Turning me end over elbow.

As I heard that still voice inside me say “I told you so.”

E.A. Fussell

07/01/2019

“Only my pride was injured in the filming of this real life episode.”