Three times during my life in the Mid-Atlantic I’ve fallen on ice. Once I was hustling along through what I thought was light snow on the sidewalk and the next thing I knew was sliding half a block on my back. A woman in a car stopped and asked if I was all right. I got up and said I was. When it’s snowy and icy out, I’m usually wearing everything I own, so I’m invincible.

If you’ve never fallen on ice, it’s different from falling otherwise. There is no elongated second to think, “I’m falling”– just suddenly you’re down and sliding.