benandsteve.com

I am not here today. Why will be explained in todays morning coffee.

By Benjamin Groff II GroffMedia© | benandsteve.com | ©2026

Oct 2, 2026

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Good morning, folks. It’s Friday, and if you’re reading this, it means my coffee has gone out without me.

By now, I expect to be in surgery or recovering afterward, possibly deeply sedated. Either way, someone else will be making the rounds this morning.

You see, I’ve done it again.

Somehow, I keep finding ways to get myself scheduled for repairs. Several times a year, somebody decides I need another adjustment. I’m beginning to think I should come with a maintenance manual.

This particular visit, however, was unplanned.

On Sunday, I was innocently walking across the den when my lights went out. No warning. No dramatic announcement. Just a sudden goodnight—and down I went.

In the process, I managed to break my leg and ankle and dislocate another bone in the ankle.

All of that, simply crossing the floor.

I didn’t trip over anything. I didn’t tumble down a staircase. I wasn’t attempting one of those athletic maneuvers that begins with “Watch this!” I fainted. Apparently, my landing had ambitions of its own.

Thanks to good insurance and the people arranging my care, I’m having surgery this morning to put things back where they belong.

Personally, I would have been happy with a Popsicle. The medical team felt a more substantial response was warranted.

The surgeon even postponed a trip out of town so he could stay and take care of me. That means a great deal. Knowing someone rearranged his own plans to help put me back together gives me something to be grateful for amid all this unexpected excitement.

I’m also grateful to having Steve there. He immediatedly heard me fall. Then notices something wasn’t right. My body was bent in a weird fold. He was my advocate in between my screaming. Then the rescuers who arrived at our home and carried me out. When your ordinary Sunday suddenly becomes an emergency, those folks become the most welcome people you’ve ever seen.

What still leaves me dumbfounded is how I managed so much damage in such a small space. I’ve had people demonstrate how they think I fell, and nobody else has come away with a broken leg or ankle.

I seem to have added something to the performance that cannot be reproduced.

In preparation for my absence, I’ve scheduled several weeks of Morning Coffee. There will still be a thought or two waiting here to help you begin your day, even while I’m busy following instructions about keeping my leg elevated.

During recovery, I plan to catch up on old episodes of South Park. I mean, educational programming about South America. We’ll see how convincing I sound after the medication wears off.

I do feel I owe you more. Perhaps a chance to sign my cast, if I get one. Or footage of the fire trucks and ambulance arriving. Some photographic evidence of this latest production would have been nice.

So far, I have only a photo of me in the emergency room. A photo of my foot.

All I can offer is the mystery of how a fellow walks across his own den, trips over absolutely nothing, and winds up needing surgical repairs.

Keep the coffee going, folks. I’m looking forward to updating you on the other side of surgery.

And next time somebody offers me a Popsicle, I’m taking it before the situation escalates.

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