At 30,000 Feet, I Watched My Wife Crawl Across the Floor With Both Legs in Casts While My Mother Hid Her Crutches—Then I Noticed What Was Recording Behind Them

Maybe they would scream.

Maybe freeze.

Maybe negotiate quietly.

Behavior during mistreatment does not certify seriousness.

Clara asking:

“Please give me my crutches”

was not weakness.

It was the strategy her nervous system found.

PART 37 — THE BAG OF POTATOES

For months I could not look at potatoes.