[Frank J Warner]

After walking the kids around Disneyland for two days last weekend I was anxious to get back into my shop and get some work done. I even cleaned the place up real nice so I'd have room to toss stuff when I got back.

Before I could do anything, I needed to make a Monday morning trip to the welding shop to get a full oxygen bottle for my oxy-acetyline rig. I disconnected the gauge and rolled the empty tank out to my truck, then bent down to pick it up and throw it in the back of the truck.

It's a big tank, weighs well over 100 pounds. I got the thing about two inches off the ground when I felt something pop in my back. It was the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life; like a jolt of electricity coursing through my whole body, and it put me on the ground on my knees, shaking, almost in tears, saying words I don't dare repeat here with what little breath I had left.

It took me ten minutes to straighten myself up, get back on my feet and into the house, cursing all the way, where the missus saw me and marched me right back out to the car and down to the urgent care center.

The Doc said I'd just pulled a muscle in my lower back, thank goodness. It wasn't a slipped disk or a compression fracture, although it hurt just as badly.

It's now Saturday and I've been out of commission for about a week, loaded up with Soma, Vicodin and Naproxen, plus all the beer and JD I could handle. Finally got through the worst of the pain and had some time over the Fourth to work on a new fixed blade tactical. My back actually feels better when I move around a bit, and it seems to be healing, although it's still a chore to get out of bed in the morning.

I'll be 52 next month. I'm too young for this cr*p. You can bet your sweet acidophilus I'll be more careful in the future.

-FJW

PS: Oh yeah, I finally got the empty bottle back to the welder. The missus' two teenaged boys helped me wrestle it into the truck on Thursday and they unloaded the full one when we got back.