A fellow (age 80+ ?) had tripped and fallen onto the sidewalk,
just outside my storefront today. I didn't see it happen, but
I heard a small commotion. A handful of people were crouching
down to help trying to help him get comfortable. I ran back
into my shop and brought out a small couch cushion for his
head. He seemed to be bleeding quite a bit. I provided a
couple of towels too. While someone was on the phone with 911,
a younger lady stayed close to him keeping him talking. To me,
it looked like he may have smashed the side of his head and was
bleeding from the ear, but it also looked like some blood was
coming out of his mouth. Paramedicts arrived in about 8
minutes. Later, I provided a bag to dispose of the bloody
towels and cushion. After the fellow was carted away, some of
the bystanders cleaned the sidewalk of the blood. The fellow
had looked somewhat familiar, and indeed it was someone I knew
who would occassionaly come to the shop.

The fellow was in town with his wife (his wife was in another
shop). I hope they sorted out the logistics of notifying his
wife and both getting home later. I can only imagine how scary
it could be if your partner suddenly went missing and you
didn't know why. But fortunately in this town, people were
willing to track down his wife and at least let her know what
happened.

One of the bystanders told me later that the paramedics had
said that the accident wasn't serious. I imagine that he must
of fallen and broken his nose. Still.. not a pleasant journey
hitting the concrete like that.

The paramedics did not bother with masks. And.. I'm glad they
didn't show up in hasmat suits.

--- OpenXP 5.0.50
* Origin: (} Pointy McPointface (618:250/1.9)