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The Narrative Arc

Medium’s best creative nonfiction — memoirs and personal essays. Eclectic, nuanced, entertaining. We are a Boost Nominating pub. EIC Debra G. Harman.

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THE NARRATIVE ARC

Unhappy Doctors — Not What You Want To See

Clearly, it’s not good news

4 min readDec 14, 2024

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doctors stare down, holding tools in hands
Not exactly what you want to see when opening your eyes. Deposit Subscription DGH

In my family, we are blessed with a trait we affectionately call the “clod gene.” The clod gene shows up at the most inopportune times — like when you’re walking across a crowded room wearing a skirt and heels, and a piece of lint trips you up — or you’re carrying a heaping plate of grilled chicken and a sliding glass door shows up out of nowhere.

My siblings and I have lots of clod gene stories. The good news is the clod gene seldom leads to anything more serious than a red face, except in this case.

Here’s what happened. It was 10:00 pm on a Sunday just before Christmas, 2016. Hubs and I have been living in an RV since 2014. We left Ohio after a winter snow season so intense it had been described on national news as biblical. Happy to leave biblical snow behind, we were camped at Mission Bay RV Resort in beautiful San Diego.

I was innocently heading out the door to take our dog Rigby for her nightly walk. I was wearing flip-flops, my usual footwear. I’m not sure what happened but the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the asphalt with my left foot in a weird, unnatural position.

The good news was Rigby had managed not to get squished by my out-of-control keister. She…

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The Narrative Arc
The Narrative Arc

Published in The Narrative Arc

Medium’s best creative nonfiction — memoirs and personal essays. Eclectic, nuanced, entertaining. We are a Boost Nominating pub. EIC Debra G. Harman.

Kris Downey
Kris Downey

Written by Kris Downey

I’m a woman who pays attention and enjoys sharing the absurd things I notice. My humor essay collection and less-humorous memoir are in the works..

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