Your Risk Of Falling

My Dad had dreams of one day decorating his dump truck and trailer with diamond plate. It never happened. I considered doing it myself when I moved back to Nashville from Bozeman, MT. It seemed like a good idea.

But like many "good" ideas, this one sat in the trailer for years. It was a sheet of 1/8" thick aluminum diamond plate that was 5'x10' long. I'm sure that it would cost several hundred dollars if I had to go buy it today. It just sat there for years like most things at "The Shop" (my family's reference to our commercial property in Madison, TN).

It stayed tucked away, along the wall of an old tractor trailer behind a tool box, some hanging extension cords, and the welder. The gridded part of the plate faced the wall so it was hard to tell what it was. One day, probably because of the way the light hit it, I saw a dim reflection of my face.

I moved the welder, used my foot to kick some clutter on the floor, rolled out the tool box, grabbed the top corner of the diamond plate and pulled. It was heavy and bound by something that was still leaning against it. I didn't care,  I kept pulling. I struggled, and lifted and pulled until it was out of the trailer and leaning against the opening of the door.

I stepped back, looked at my hands to make sure they were o.k., then examined my find. There was something about the weight and toughness, the failed dreams associated with its purpose, and the potential to be transformed into something that would reflect the world around it.

You can see how the pattern from the other side dictated the texture

According to Wikipedia, diamond plate is used in industrial settings to reduce the risk of falling (failing). But is falling so bad? Is it falling the problem or not knowing how to fall? I read an article in ESPN Magazine yesterday about how sports teach us to fall, to fail. One of the examples that they used was that of all professions, football players fall the most. On any given play there are eight or more players eating dirt. They pointed to a man who has done years of research of what happens in the brain when people fall. He noted that the fear of falling is experienced by most people during the fall, this makes it worse.

Football players on the other hand fall often. Their muscle memory has taught them how to fall gracefully, to roll with the fall so that they can get back up again. This is interesting. This is much like life. The fear of falling (failure) often makes the fall worse and keeps us from leaning how to get up again. We all fall, even Mohammad Ali as Joe Frazier knocked him to the canvas. But as the article pointed out, it was Ali's ability to get off the canvas and comeback to beat Frazier that endeared him as the greatest.

Diamond plate tells us to relax, no need to worry. This is obvious because some of its most prominent roles in our society is that a logo, a slogan of strength and safety.

It is used in the interior and on the exterior of ambulances and fire trucks.  Interesting. Other than what is stood upon, its function to keep its occupants from slipping is minimal. It is used then for its durability and decoration. What does it mean to decorate with fail resistant materials. It is a symbol of safety and stability, that help is on the way, my hero.

Detail of knife handle

 My youngest brother Eli, was in training to be a firefighter. He was a volunteer and was taking EMT training at Vol-State Community College. I think that he changed his mind.