One Odd Question

by Dan Cashman
January 16, 2022

Keen viewers of our social media channels - mostly Facebook - might have noticed that I have done a series of "Ask Me Anything" segments. They come in fits and spurts with no real rhyme or reason.

Would more people watch if we did them on a regular basis? Maybe. 

But, the whole concept is just answering e-mails. Nothing planned. Nothing prepped. In fact, for a short time, I had an intern print off the e-mails and deliver them to me, so I would go in to answering them completely fresh. I got tired of that. And sometimes, I feel like some are just the same questions over and over again that could be better answered with a FAQ page. 

Anyway, I was planning to do another "Ask Me Anything" the weekend I'm writing this. It was going to be on Saturday at noon. But at about 11:55, I got a phone call, and it didn't end for a while. SO, Ask Me Anything for January 15 went kaput. 

When we don't do the segments, we're still getting e-mails. Some of them are direclty addressed to the Ask Me Anything segment. Some are surely just meant to try and make us laugh. Some are from people angry about something. But one of the e-mails was just...odd. I was going to answer it on the live stream Saturday, but when that didn't happen...I just couldn't get it out of my mind. So, here you go.

I will refrain from naming the person who sent it. I'll just say that they are from Otis. Here is their question:

"Have you ever lost a toenail? I did once. My finger became infected very badly, so I had to have surgery. When the doctor got in there, he found my toenail. Is this rare?"

Alright. First of all, this MUST be made up. I mean, I know toenails can fall off...but wouldn't you know it happened? And, how on earth would you not notice it sliced its way into your finger? 

And, let's just say for the purpose of discussion...maybe you did have surgery. And maybe a nail was found somewhere in your finger that wasn't at the tip. Is it possible that it was a piece of fingernail that somehow broke off in your skin? 

Lastly, I really wanted a picture. But I really don't. If this were you, and if it actually happened, would you take a photo? Or would it be too painful? Was this person awake for the surgery?

I still can't get it out of my mind. It's like a low budget horror film. "New. This Halloween. Get Nailed...by The Toe." 

And, to answer the question: No. I've never lost a toenail. I did lose a Pete Rose baseball card when I was about 10. I still don't know where it went. That will haunt me for a long time. But not as much as "The Toe."