A lot of things fall. Whether one is thinking of leaves in the fall chunks of space debris or Chinese spy balloons, things fall or get knocked down. My wife has several decorative items she hangs on windows with suction cups which fall more than once a year.

When they fall, she picks them up, dusts them off, and hangs them back in the same spot. So far, they continue to survive. Still, there will be a time when they take that final fall. The same can be said of people.

As we age, the fear of falling becomes more of a reality for humanity. Many people wonder when they, or a loved one, will enter the falling stage. The stage some feel is a sign the end is nigh. Take the time I tripped and fell, leaving my daughter’s house.

It was a sudden and dramatic fall that would have made a great scene in an old comedy movie. You know, the cocky old cowboy in his boots and jeans who walks around like he’s God’s gift to everybody and falls flat on his face in a pile of horse manure.

Thankfully, I fell into a pile of boxes that cushioned my fall. I might have ended up face-down on a concrete floor without them. Also, I wasn’t strutting around putting on airs, but I did look good in starched jeans and nicely polished boots.

Okay! Back to the message here. My girls reacted as if I’d just been shot and were certain that was the beginning of the end for dear old dad. Thankfully, I wasn’t hurt, and there was a relatively logical explanation for the fall.

My eldest had just purchased this house; it was my first visit. For some reason, the threshold for the doorway from the house into the garage had a raised edge on the house side of the door. The sole of my boot caught on the raised edge, and the result was my thankfully cushioned face plant.

Still! You’d have thought I fell from a ten-foot ladder onto a concrete floor. Someone even commented I was getting to be that age now and needed to be careful. For the record, I have never fallen over that or any threshold again. However, I have tripped or fallen several times without serious consequences.

So, why is this being posted in my Friday Follies series? Falling as we get older is a serious threat to our well-being. Failing to realize that can lead to problems. However, being afraid to step off a curb for fear of falling is also a problem.

Don’t be ashamed or afraid to ask for help, and make certain your doctors and close friends know if you begin to have a balance or other issues that might lead to falls and injuries. Keeping quiet is definitely folly.

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