An elderly woman drives to her local store in the early afternoon every Thursday to purchase the week’s groceries. Milk, butter, bread and cheese are her staples. The vegetables vary week to week based on her preference for this dish or that. The fruits that fill her cart never deviate from what can be found in any produce section in any supermarket during any season of the year: bananas, apples, and oranges. On the way to the cashier (she abhors the absence of small talk at the automated scanner), she suddenly remembers that her grandchildren will visit this weekend. She makes a slow pivot for the baking aisle and reaches for the top shelf for a ready-to-bake package of coffee cake. When she reaches overhead, her stance becomes unreliable and she retracts her hand to steady herself. The second time she tries, she gets it, but as she’s pulling the box down, it falls to the ground. She hinges down unaided to retrieve it from the floor. While trying to get upright again, her body fails her. She falls sideways and breaks her hip.

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