I went to my coffee shop in Morristown. It seems like an odd place for me to be since I don’t venture drink coffee. In this shop that also serves tea and muffins and weird flat sandwiches that then put in the oven, there is bar seating by the front window and a long and high picnic looking table.
Small round tables are against on wall where two or three people can sit at each. And in the back, there are couches and individual soft chairs. When I arrived, there were about 15 people standing and waiting for their coffee orders. The place was beyond crowded and I thought about leaving. Then a saw an open spot on the corner of the large table. The challenge was there was no way to get to it. On one side, it was blocked by two smaller tables with people seated at them. At the other end, there were people sitting but it looked as though I could squeeze around them. I opted for this route. I still have the neck brace on so I can’t really look around. You wouldn’t believe how helpful a slight head nod is when trying to glance down. The other thing is you can’t see off the sides unless you turn your entire body, which means I have to stop walking, put my palm on my chest, the turn one, way, then the other. And navigating this course required both looking to the side and also looking down. I walked around the end of the table it seemed to be going well, but I didn’t see the folding chairs leaning against the wall because of the jacket over the back of the chair just opposite.
When I navigated behind the end chair, my foot caught on the bottom of the folding chair up against the wall which, with my weight on it, caused it to slide into the opposing chair which had someone sitting in it. She jumped up, as did everyone around, and I tried to play it off with a ‘I’m good” like i had it, which i didn’t, and my momentum had me moving forward. Once you’re committed, you either move forward, or you fall flat on your face. Fortunately, I didn’t fall, but I did drag the folding chair with me as I stumbled all the while saying “I’m good” and dragging the chair behind me.
