Independence Day

Fireworks and picnics and drinking, oh my!

Here, as promised, is my silly little diddy:

I didn't realize the ladder was tipping until it was too late. The lightbulbs fell from my hand, smashing ont the floor twelve feet below. I tried to grab onto the ceiling fan for balance, but heard the blades begin to crack as sheet rock fell into my eyes. Not thinking, I took my right hand off the ladder to wipe my eyes. The floor came up at me too quickly for me to stop it.

My wife had told me to wait until she got home to replace the dead bulb. But she was out shopping with her sister and it could be hours (maybe days!) before I saw her again. Although our ceilings were high, I figured I could get onto the "no stepping here" step of the ladder and change it no problem.

I hadn't counted on the neighbor's cat.

With teh air conditioning still not working (we'd just moved in), I had left the front and back doors open, hoping to create a cross-breeze. Our new neighborhood is safe, so I wasn't worried about unwelcome visitors.

Our dog, Champ, was getting up there in years and didn't chase balls anymore, let alone neighborhood cats. But when the striped tabby wandered into the kitchen, he was up and barking faster than he'd moved in years.

The two animals ran through the kitchen, living room, den, and dining room before making it into the foyer. The cat ran under the ladder, and so did Champ, hitting it with his powerful labrador tail.

I didn't realize the ladder was tipping until it was too late.