by Francesca Biller-Safran

Created on: July 29, 2008

Accidents, schmaccidents! If anyone should be crowned Ms. Reigning queen of tripping on her own feet, even if at times just for comedy's sake, I'm your girl.

But what isn't so funny is the following line I continually heard as a child, "There is no such things as an accident as long as you are just careful enough."

This was told to me even though I happened to be the accident-prone child in the family, with visible strawberries and on my knees as I donned Marsha Brady dresses from Sears in early 1970's.

So far, I have managed to get through life with little therapy, no recommendations, please, even though I continue to bump into walls and spill cups of coffee on my shirt at least twice a day- but who's counting?

My mother seemed perfect when I was a little girl- she still does. Moving gracefully through life with her serene movements, I long to be just like her; never spilling a thing, with designer stain-free blouses.

But thankfully, I have learned to accept myself and my bruised legs, and I now know that accidents happen to all of us and often cannot be avoided. I still have never told her about the time I nearly cut my thumb off when chopping a tomato, or when I landed head first in a large potted plant at the mall. The shame I would cause!

Accidents happen to the best of us, and most of us live to tell about it, with both the mental and physical scars we often bare with pride and bravado. And we are all the stronger for it, add character in places we never knew existed, and hopefully can boast that we have not experienced the most horrific accident of all, that of not taking the risks we know that we should have.

Woody Allen said, "You can live to be a hundred and give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred."

On the other hand, he also commented, "I'm astounded by people who want to know the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown."

Surely, geniuses like Allen, Einstein and Picasso didn't let fear stand in the way of attempting lofty and even dangerous feats, albeit fears of flailing miserably, thank goodness for the rest of us.

Growing up I lived in fear of failing as my mother lovingly warned me about dangerous pursuits and how there was no such thing as an accident, having children not included.

All kidding not aside, in order to fearlessly go where not many guilt-ridden adults get to travel, I often say, "A few accidents never hurt anyone," and I attempt risky endeavors, however normal they may seem to others. Wild

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