Elmer remembered his mother’s voice. He heard her saying, “Elmer, concentrate on one thing at a time.” He also recalled his father commenting that Elmer was so uncoordinated that he couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time.

They were right. Elmer regretted not listening. His clumsiness finally got the better of him. He tripped in his kitchen while drinking a glass of water. He tried to move the glass from his mouth before it shattered on the tile floor. Too late. A singularly large piece was driven upwards and severed his jugular vein.