Tale of an Accident

The tale of an accident can be told several hours later, because it had a happy ending.  Neighbor Logan came over when we were having a late breakfast.  He drank chocolate milk at the table with us and kept us amused.  There is nothing like conversation with a 5-year-old!  John began reading him a story while I was preparing two dishes for Easter dinner.  Logan’s attention shifted to the piano.  He enjoyed playing random notes, drowning out the story.  They drifted into John’s office.

You know what accidents are like.  One moment everything is fine, and the next there is an explosion of activity as you cope with a mess.  I knew seconds later when John shouted to ask me for a roll of paper towels.  I hustled to get them and knew only that coffee was everywhere.  When the phone rang, I answered it in the kitchen, only to hear gurgling sounds.  It happened two or three times.  It seems John had a full mug of coffee on his desk while Logan was typing on the computer.  The boy was a bit frustrated when he held down one key, and it kept repeating.  John was fixing it for him.  Suddenly the mug was on the floor, and coffee was flooding everything.  John was concerned about the CPU on the floor, as well as a book next to the computer desk.  It was only as he moved the undamaged book that he saw coffee coming out of the modem.  I put two and two together later and figured that was when the phone gurgled at me.

Coffee damage is nothing new.  Both our cars have coffee stains and smell like used coffee.  I’d be surprised if there aren’t coffee scars all around the desk, too.  John saw only one light blinking on the modem when there should be five or six.  He unplugged it and asked me about it.  I advised letting it dry out before trying it again.  I don’t think anyone knew we were incommunicado for several hours.

After lunch we decided to plug the modem in again.  If it didn’t work, we’d contact the cable company to see about a new one.  We held our breath.  No lights came on for the longest time.  I said we should be patient to give it a chance, and we talked of other things.  John noticed a green light blinking just before the phone in my pocket came to life.  I whipped it out and saw with relief the icon that showed it was connected to the internet.  Whew!  We were back in business with no one else the wiser.

Logan’s mom sent me his brand new school picture.  They must have used a very fast shutter speed to catch him without a blur.  That precious boy moves like lightning.