You know those stories of kids who see a violent or traumatic event, & go mute the rest of their life? That was pretty much me. I sat at the UT alumni bar in Chicago, buried my head in my hands when I saw the ball cross the plane, exhaled, & proceeded to stare off at the TV's & barely say a word to anyone for the next 30 min or so.
There was a blonde girl with a cute face that I could tell wanted to talk & wondered what my deal was next to me. But, she was chunky, so I couldn't break my disbelieving daze for her.
Slowly I began to speak again. By Sun, I had to go to work in the Trauma bay, so I had to be interactive, & I remain fully socially interactive.