Lying on the ground, Metrano knew he was paralyzed. And this is the kind of situation that reveals exactly what a person is made of. Rather than bemoan his incomprehensible fate, he patiently endured the 45-minute wait for paramedics, thinking: “What a shmuck! You fell on your own property! You can’t even sue!” And, “You knew better — Jews don’t belong on ladders!”

After 21 operations and a miraculous recovery, Metrano wrote and performed a one-man show to help others with spinal cord injuries. Gleaned from the journals he kept during his lengthy recovery, Jews Don’t Belong On Ladders — An Accidental Comedy took audiences on a funny, poignant journey. It garnered good reviews and raised more than $175,000, which Metrano is proud to say went directly to people in need via Project Support for Spinal Cord Injury, which helps buy crutches, wheelchairs and other supplies for patients.

With Joe Bologna directing, the play had an extended run in Los Angeles in 2000. The following year he brought it to South Florida, and has performed it many times since, most recently in 2009 at the Colony Theater in Miami Beach. (In 2004 the play was released as a book.) Metrano, now 76 and still restless, is in negotiations to bring An Accidental Comedy to New York.

“The reward comes with the people who surround me after the show, who tell me about the adversity in their lives and how I have given them hope,” he says.

Through it all, Metrano still had a taste for the restaurant business. He had become a fan of frozen yogurt, and noticed the popularity of self-serve yogurt shops. But the quality of the yogurt was a concern, so he created Yogurt Ur Way. The first shop opened on trendy Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, and was an instant hit.

“That store is very different than most yogurt stores, much classier,” he says. “Many other yogurt stores use a powdered formula. Ours does not come from a powder, and then we do a couple of tricks with it that no one else does. I think we have the best yogurt going.”

In March 2012, Metrano brought the concept to Hollywood beach, adding a menu of healthy wraps to the huge selection of self-serve yogurt.

“My father-in-law works in both stores, and he’s so good at teaching these young kids that work for us, and they’ve done a very good job because they watch him. They know that this frozen yogurt is special,” he says.

“And we know our price is very good. That’s really exceptional. And the toppings are all fresh, when they are delivered from our grocers we take only the best, whether they’re fresh strawberries, or kiwis, pineapple, what have you.”

Metrano reflects for a moment, and sums up with a personal philosophy. “There’s a poem I live my life by. And I repeat it constantly. At the end of my shows I tell it to the audience, so hopefully people will understand where I’m coming from. It’s a real simple poem:

There is a destiny that makes us brothers

None goes his way alone

All that we send into the lives of others

Comes back into our own.

When I phone him later, the message on his answering machine offers a parting bit of philosophy from the amazing Art Metrano:

“I am making some changes in my life and can’t come to the phone right now, so please leave a message. If I don’t return your call … you were one of the changes.”

J.D. Champ can be reached at jd@jdchamp.com.