Hello Fellow Travelers!
I was ready to reflect on 2016 ("man buns"? WTH? George Michael dropping dead! (double WTH?) and then this happened: I went to a celebration of a loved one, by all accounts a great man! Accordingly, I planned for everything, every five hour increment. The party was a resounding success! Toasts were made, music was played! I didn't knock anything over, I listened to hilarious childhood recollections of my tablemates. Because my universe is always spinning, I kept my liquids to water (no spillage), no cake (:( ), no chocolate risk.
I gazed adoringly as my PS and son harmonized and played their guitars. Three generations of O'Reillys - very special. Visitors visited, no blood or tears were shed, all attendees seemed to be having a nice time. People connected. But, as the "man of the hour" once told me, "Nobody gets out of here alive!" I thought I planned for any contingency. Shoes? Covered. Global-thermal-nuclear-war? Covered.
What I didn't plan for was the uneven stone floor of The Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco!
We were leaving - a great time was had by all and I was not responsible for any mishaps. Until I wheeled out the door and got stuck on the ancient stones...
As I was making a valiant effort to escape the gridlock I had wheeled into (sort of like the dinosaurs that got stuck in the La Brea Tarpits), I felt a pair of hands giving me a considerable push out of the rock quarry/floor.
A stranger, rendering assistance, it was so generous, so Irish, so, well, human!
So how did I repay this act of genuine kindness? How did I respond to this unselfish act of generosity? I'll tell you! By smashing that kind woman's plastic clamshell of leftovers on the stony floor! Where it exploded!
I mean bits of salmon flew everywhere! When I make a mess, I don't play, I make certain every possible surface is covered! I'm very thorough!
At the very moment of salmon-to-stone impact, my beautiful sister-in-law, Francesca, floated over on a diamond/Bulgari cloud and offered my angelic warrior her clamshell of tiramisu (which was politely declined).
It was an epic mess!
My unexpected benefactress could not have been more gracious, as though losing her lunch (literally) happened every day!
It was mortifying! And funny!
My kind of party!
Something I never expected! It just goes to show: You Always Need to be Vigilant!
Did I repeat the mistake of the mythical Icarus? Did I try to fly too close to the sun?
Naaaah!
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| My Future Chair - No Handles and it doesn't scream, "Help Me!" |
I gazed adoringly as my PS and son harmonized and played their guitars. Three generations of O'Reillys - very special. Visitors visited, no blood or tears were shed, all attendees seemed to be having a nice time. People connected. But, as the "man of the hour" once told me, "Nobody gets out of here alive!" I thought I planned for any contingency. Shoes? Covered. Global-thermal-nuclear-war? Covered.
What I didn't plan for was the uneven stone floor of The Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco!
We were leaving - a great time was had by all and I was not responsible for any mishaps. Until I wheeled out the door and got stuck on the ancient stones...
As I was making a valiant effort to escape the gridlock I had wheeled into (sort of like the dinosaurs that got stuck in the La Brea Tarpits), I felt a pair of hands giving me a considerable push out of the rock quarry/floor.
A stranger, rendering assistance, it was so generous, so Irish, so, well, human!
So how did I repay this act of genuine kindness? How did I respond to this unselfish act of generosity? I'll tell you! By smashing that kind woman's plastic clamshell of leftovers on the stony floor! Where it exploded!
I mean bits of salmon flew everywhere! When I make a mess, I don't play, I make certain every possible surface is covered! I'm very thorough!
At the very moment of salmon-to-stone impact, my beautiful sister-in-law, Francesca, floated over on a diamond/Bulgari cloud and offered my angelic warrior her clamshell of tiramisu (which was politely declined).
It was an epic mess!
My unexpected benefactress could not have been more gracious, as though losing her lunch (literally) happened every day!
It was mortifying! And funny!
My kind of party!
Something I never expected! It just goes to show: You Always Need to be Vigilant!
Did I repeat the mistake of the mythical Icarus? Did I try to fly too close to the sun?
Naaaah!
You have a way of storytelling! A budding author in our midst! Great read!
ReplyDeleteLove, Cathy
Jan, you have enough material already for a book of reflections,
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing, the reader feels like they were there, too...
But if you need any lesson from it, maybe it's just that plastic ware
lids are all faulty and need a more impervious design? An advance
on those Bankers Boxes with the snap down handles? Zip-lock
for containers beyond bags? And make them recyclable, degradable
plastic while we are at it!