Grin At the Change All Around Me

Okay okay okay so last night I'm walking around upstairs, thinking Ta thoughts, going la la la la life's good - whut? and next thing you know because you're joining this story late I'm bouncing - bump bump bump! - down the stairs and land on the left side of my sweet patootie. I didn't bother screaming since I couldn't possibly scream louder than the bump bump bump! of my butt down the stairs and by the time I thought of screaming I'd already landed and that seemed, you know, pushy. Besides, as my much younger sister Corinne reminded me, we used to do this for fun, which was before I spent half of every day coddling my right hip, so when I landed in the middle of the flight of steps it took about a year for me to narrow down the source of all that pain reverberating through my limbs like church bells through mountain air.

Mark Rothko
Red, Orange, Tan and Purple, 1954
Oil on canvas
84 1/2 x 68 1/2 inches (214.5 x 174 cm), approximate size and shape of giant bruise on my butt.

This morning I was supposed to exercise with my friend Leilani Goldstein. She's a professional trainer but she pities me and finds me hilarious so she pushes us through two hours of really rigorous calisthenics a week and I try out two hours of my comic material. Breathing is optional, of course. Leilani had a scheduling conflict, which was fine by me.

Tata: No, rescheduling is fine. Last night, I sailed down a flight of stairs on my celebrated rump and I couldn't figure out how I was going to get down on my mat, let alone up in boat pose.
Leilani: You - are you hurt?
Tata: You bet! I can only do plies in my overactive imagination! Wanna try Sunday?
Leilani: You're going to heal in 24 hours?
Tata: Not at all, but you can still laugh at me while I dead lift like I wish I were.

Meanwhile, Leilani, who is kind and gentle and wouldn't hurt a flea and used to dance for Ringling Brothers, fails to utter three words in a row without testing the aerobic capacity of her sinuses.

Leilani: I'm so sorry - KTTTTHHHHT! - to hear you - GONNNNKT! - bruised YOUR BUTT!

Yeah. Me, too.