The universe, it seems, possesses a dark, deeply twisted sense of irony.

The latest soul to be introduced to the terrifying, physics-defying power of a 2,000-pound prehistoric tank in Yellowstone National Park has been identified. He isn't some reckless influencer chasing clout, but a community-minded grandfather from Washington state who—in an act of pure, unadulterated grit—immediately started cracking jokes while his bones were still settling into their new, unintended positions.

Carl Isom-McDaniel was minding his own business Friday night at the Bridge Bay Campground near Yellowstone Lake when he crossed paths with a testosterone-fueled bull bison. The encounter ended precisely how these things always do: with a human being flung eight feet into the air like a discarded rag doll, a moment captured in terrifying, instantly viral clarity by a nearby photographer.

The Anatomy of an Airborne Grandfather McDaniel, a man sporting a long white beard and glasses, suffered multiple broken bones in the melee. Yet, while the rest of us would be reassessing our life choices and screaming for morphine, this beautiful lunatic lay on the dirt making light of the fact that he’d just been launched into low Earth orbit. “He was in a lot of pain with his leg, and otherwise he was conscious the whole time, in good spirits, joking,” photographer Mike MacLeod told the New York Times.

Think about that. You are in your mid-60s, you have just been absolutely trucked by a marauding beast from the Pleistocene era in front of your grandson, and your immediate instinct is to work on your stand-up routine while waiting for the park ambulance. That is a level of psychological fortitude you cannot teach.

From the Water Board to the Stratosphere Back home in Kendall, Washington, McDaniel isn't known for surviving wildlife assaults. He’s a retired, mild-mannered civic servant who spends his time sitting on the local water and parks commissions, and serves as the chairman of a neighborhood newsletter.

He is, by all accounts, a pillar of the community. But life is funny that way. One day you’re approving a budget for the local playground, and the next, you’re a viral sensation because a furious, shaggy deity decided to test your structural integrity.Here’s to Carl. May his recovery be swift, his jokes stay sharp, and his future park visits be strictly confined to the boardwalks.