I’m all caught up on travel posts! Huzzah! At least until my trip at the end of September. Where am I going, you ask? Stay tuned. In the meantime, this is a brief rambling interlude.

This title is not metaphorical. I literally stumble. All the time. It’s like I’m training for some Olympic klutz event. Just ask my friend C.

Once, I even sprained my ankle going up the stairs. I know you’re thinking that I totally should go pro. And you’re right. I should … if only there was a sporting event for klutziness.

Anyway, I should probably come with a warning label to give others a fair chance. Luckily, my klutziness doesn’t usually impact people other than giving them a laugh. It’s clearly my goal to make the world a happier and, by default, safer place. Ergo, my klutziness is saving the world one trip at a time.

But since I’m a klutz, I tend to look down when I walk. And while it seems most people are “looking down” when they walk today, I, unlike them, am not looking at my phone. I look down because if I don’t, it’s inevitable that curbs jump in my way, sidewalks instantly crack, or steps randomly appear.

Weird, right?

But every darn time I take my gaze away from the street, BAM! I tripped and slid face down on some marble stairs in Matera. (It’s alright, I wasn’t too injured. Although, I gave C and some nice Italians quite the freight.)

So, I look down.

If I want or need to look up, I have to stop moving. Even then it’s not a sure thing that I won’t trip. Plus, this actually has proven to cause additional problems, especially if I’m on a busy street. Pedestrians tend not to like it when people randomly stop in front of them. But I say better to randomly stop than trip and face plant and cause a larger hazard.

A side benefit to a lifetime of tripping is that I am the master of falling. I can trip, right myself, and keep right on walking. It’s a gift, I know. 

I tell you all this because there is a financial incentive to looking down at the sidewalk. And since I’m a giver and awesome, I’ll share it with you.

The biggest benefit of looking down is finding coins. Okay, so I mainly find pennies, but I have found the random nickel and dime (and once a twenty dollar bill!). My record is finding 18 pennies at in one spot. Yep. 18 in one spot right off a curb. 

So, the next time you see a klutzy person looking down, don’t laugh. Ask them what they’re doing for lunch and then get them to pay.

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