My son was in trouble. The nursing staff and the psychologist at the rehab hospital had him cornered. “Think about it,” they said, “what’s the worst that could have happened?” My son thought about it… he was quite proud of what he’d done. The twin gods, Health and Safety, however, were not quite so pleased.

“Not a lot,” he answered, knowing all the while that they were looking at the worst-case scenario of a serious fall, while he was seeing in his mind’s eye the two young men, both over six feet tall, both strong as oxen and one built like a tank, who had been his accomplices.  They had both taken the utmost care of his safety since the attack that had left him unable to walk and had held him in strong hands as he had walked up the stairs between them on his first visit home.

It…