One of THOSE Days...

[montyb]

It all started so innocuously this morning. I had finished a decent workout at the YMCA and had headed for the locker room and a shower. I had just gotten lathered up when the fire alarm sounded followed by an announcement that this was not a test and the please evacuate the building. Fortunately I was able to towel off on my way to my locker and was able to grab my pants and shirt. Everything else stayed behind.

Did I mention I was the only one taking a shower at that time?

The firemen soon arrived and swept the building. Just a malfunctioning sensor. We re-entered the building after receiving the all clear and I proceeded to finish my shower.

But I did learn a valuable lesson today: A towel can only dry one thing per day. It was a pretty uncomfortable drive home.

Anyone else ever have a day like this one?

[imported_Lurker]

Constantly. That's why I had a "Murphy's Law" page-a-day calendar once. It was a reminder that I'm not the only one trying to prove Chaos Theory. The universe does it on a daily basis.

[smoochie222]

http://youtu.be/WQlImg2bm28

[bansaisequoia]

What great good fortune, Monty. That this should happen to you in June instead of February.

[imported_Lurker]

One of those days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZBlqdJkMwQ

[gryhnd51]

Monty, it must have seemed like the worst day of your life at the time! However, it will remain a wonderfully entertaining story for many years to come. Thank goodness you were able to grab some basic clothes on the way out.

The closest I can come to it was the day, almost 30 years ago, when I had to take my cat (Isis) to be euthanized. I wanted to bury her in my garden, so I brought her back home. We were somewhat poorer in those days, and my cat-carrier was basically a big red and white striped box with vents. Needless to say, I had been crying quite a bit. I arrived home and my next-door neighbors were outside. I gathered up my cat-carrier and got out of the car. George immediately realized that I was very upset, but Liz (who is from Scotland) shouted across the street in her heavily burred Scottish accent, "Beth, how good of you to buy Kentucky fried chicken for the whole neighborhood" ...while George was madly trying to shush her! As soon as Liz realized what was actually going she felt terrible. George felt so guilty that he insisted on digging the grave for me.
It wasn't a funny incident at the time, but over the years that story has provided a lot of belly-laughs for my friends and family, and also for theirs!

[montyb]

Great story!

Gryhnd,

It was far from the worst day of my life. I actually thought it was quite humorous at the time and my wife and I had some good laughs when I got home. I think the first thought that went through my mind was, "Oh sure, why not?"

Your story was the type I was looking for; perhaps serious at first, but more humorous when seen through the lens of time. I can just hear Liz shouting that in a thick Scottish brogue. Thanks for the delightful story.

Anyone else out there wish to share such an anecdote?

[Barnabas]

May 1977. I had graduated from high school, and Mom had coordinated a very nice celebration for me at my parents' home. I did wonder, though, about her choice of cake. It was lemon cake and I was fairly sure she knew me well enough after 18 years to know that I really wasn't a fan of anything lemon. A few days had passed, and one morning my mother and her best friend, Madelyn, were having coffee in my mother's kitchen. I don't what possessed me but, seeing the remainder of the lemon cake on the kitchen counter, I picked that moment to push my mother's buttons a little.
"Mom, why did you have a lemon cake made for my graduation? You know I don't like lemon. What were you thinking?" I know, I know. What an ingrate, right? Actually, the texture of the cake couldn't have been better... moist, a little crumbly, and the texture of the frosting had been nearly perfect as well.
"Well, I don't know what I was thinking, Chad," replied my mother. "I was so busy getting everything else ready for your graduation that I asked Madelyn here to bake a cake for you. Maybe you'd like to ask her what she was thinking."
Needless to say I would have gladly crawled into a hole and remained there for a month.
Fast forward 3 and a half decades. I was attending the funeral of the mother of my own high school best friend. Madelyn was also attending that service, and I seated myself across from her at the post-funeral luncheon. We were reminiscing about a great many things, and I eventually told her that even after thirty-some years I still felt like a heel whenever I thought about that moment in Mom's kitchen.
"Oh, I hope you haven't been beating yourself up too badly," she said. "Maynard (her husband) and I have been laughing about it for years on the rare occasions when it comes up." She always has been my mom's best friend, and one of the reasons she is such a good friend is because of her forgiving nature... just one among many of her very admirable qualities.

[universalmom]

Ohhh Barnabas, how embarrassing! It's wonderful that Madelyn was so gracious, she seems to have understood the impulsiveness of an 18 year old boy.

[wvwoman]

anecdote aside, i'm kind of surprised that madelyn didn't check to see what kind of cake you'd like, barnabas. as lemon has never been considered a universally-liked "standard" cake flavor (like chocolate, white and yellow), it just seems like an unusual choice on her part for a teenager's party. in her place, i'd have been embarrassed for making a cake you didn't like!

[bluffer]

a "slice of life" story thread

I appreciate Barnabas' "slice of life" story, because all of the players in the scene were being sincere and had no malice, yet they inadvertently could have hurt one another's feelings. It is great when people like Madelyn see the humor and don't take it personally.

[smoochie222]

How about with blueberries

[universalmom]

Is that a lemon cake?? I, for one, love lemon cake…

[smoochie222]

Lemolicious

[wvwoman]

it's rather wicked of you to post such a scrumptious-looking cake pic at this hour of the night--i swear i can taste the sugary goodness of that creamy frosting!

now, hmmm...what's in my kitchen to handle this sudden-onset sweet tooth?!