In the story of “Learning to Fall” you read about Philip Simmons and his disease. You see
how it affects him mentally and learn how it affects him physically. It’s real, it makes you
think. What if you wake up one day and find out you have a terminal illness, what would
you do with the rest of the time you have left? Well in this story you see exactly what
Philip did. This story is very moving with a strong theme, Live and Learn not to take
things for granted.
Early on in the story, Simmons states that everyone will eventually learn to fall, and gives
an example of his earliest memory. Shortly after that he says “We have all suffered, and
will suffer, our own falls. The fall from youthful ideals, the warning of physical strength,
the failure of a cherished hope, the loss of our near and dear, the fall into injury or
sickness, and late or soon, the fall to our certain ends. We have no choice but to fall, and
little say as to the time or means.” Simmons is just telling you the harsh reality of life. Sure
you can have the perfect life, but it will always be off-balanced. You will never be able to
control when you age, or when someone close to you passes, or when you get hurt or sick.
Everyone has to be okay with the fact that you cannot control every aspect of your life. I
think what he is saying is that you need to learn to embrace the fall. Take the good with the
