Slips, trips and falls

Our bike path has been cleared by a private contractor this winter. paid for by the "Friends of the Lexington Bikeways". It is so wonderful to be able to walk especially with the winter we have had.  Unfortunately a half dozen times this winter I have been a mall walker because of the outside conditions.
When I worked in a manufacturing plant at Polaroid, safety was very important since there was dangerous equipment all around.  One motto we had for safety training was "Watch for Slips, trips and falls!"  A slip or a trip was a warning that something was not safe and often happened before a fall.  If you paid attention to a slip, it might prevent a more severe incident like a fall.  In fact, we reported all slips, trips and falls to rectify an unsafe condition.
 
I think about this a lot and especially when I am walking on the bike path.  Today, while in a trance/zone as I powered along, I slid gently on a patch of ice.  It was a nice warning to slip rather than fall. My zone however, was interrupted and my full attention was on my feet, and where they were planted.  I thought about all the near misses on the ice this winter, and I also thought about the people I know who have really hurt themselves falling.

I was much more alert after that quick slide, but still would rather be out on a beautiful sunny day on the bike path, than in the mall.