Groundhog day

I broke my arm.

But let’s look on the light side.

Here’s the story.

I was out for my Sunday bike ride with my bestie Franca, and it was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining, but it wasn’t hot, and the trail was almost deserted. I ride on a trail that leaves from Wegmans and also finishes there, because there’s no better place to exercise than near carbohydrates.

It’s motivation, both good and bad.

Like at the end of the ride, carbohydrates are my reward.

But also they’re the reason I have to come back next Sunday.

Plus to have fun, because Franca and I ride side-by-side, yakking the whole time.

We were doing just that when all of a sudden, a groundhog ran in front of me. I braked and swerved, but went over the handlebars and landed on the asphalt.

The groundhog was fine.

But I’m looking at six weeks of being in a sling.

It’s my own personal Punxsutawney Phil.

As soon as I fell off, Franca leaped into action, proving again what best friends are for. We’ve been best friends for 40 years, but you’d never know that by looking at us, since I look 80 and she looks 20.

In fact, she has been mistaken for my daughter.

It happened in the Wegmans parking lot when we were going for a ride, and a woman passing by recognized me and assumed Franca was Francesca.

I didn’t even mind.

That’s how much I love my bestie.

And I’m betting you feel the same way about your girlfriend, because true friendship is having a superhot bestie.

When we’re riding on the trail, men look at her.

And I love it!

She’s gorgeous!

You know who looks at me?

Groundhogs.

I bet that groundhog who ran in front of me wanted a date.

And he would be an improvement on Thing Two.

Frankly, I have my eye on a really cute chipmunk.

What girl doesn’t like Chip ‘n’ Dale?

They’re stripper chipmunks.

To return to point, Franca has gotten me through law school, weddings, divorces, and all the drama in between.

If you have a girlfriend like that, you’re lucky indeed.

The drama in between is the best part.

It’s astounding how much drama two women can generate in a lifetime.

I’m pretty certain it could power a small city.

Anyway, to return to point, Franca made sure I was OK, then told me to stay calm and not move. She was about to call 911, but other cyclists stopped and asked if we needed help, and Franca stayed with me while a good Samaritan called 911 for us. And then a lot of people stopped to see what was happening, gave all manner of advice, and generally kept Franca and me company until the ambulance arrived.

So please remember how good people are.

It’s easy to forget, with the headlines every day.

But truly, we had a bicycle party, trading stories of falls, surgeries, fractures, and all the drama in between.

See what I mean?

Anyway I went to the amazing Paoli Hospital where they were all wonderful, and they took a CAT scan and X-rays.

The bottom line is that I have the perfect fracture.

It’s enough to get sympathy, not surgery.

There’s not even physical therapy, other than keeping my left arm moving, like bringing a fork to my mouth.

Just an example off the top of my head.

At first I thought they said I had a Radiohead fracture.

But they were saying radial head fracture.

And then I went to the orthopedist and it turned out to be a radial neck fracture, which is even less.

All I know is I broke a bone in my elbow.

It doesn’t even hurt.

But I can’t ride a bike for six weeks.

So my groundhog is going to have to wait for me.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Look for Lisa’s new best-selling domestic thriller, “What Happened to the Bennetts,” now in paperback. Lisa’s historical novel, “Eternal,” and Francesca’s debut novel, “Ghosts of Harvard,” are also in paperback.