Close Calls

Photo: The danger that awaited me in the dishwasher, a broken glass

Relating some close calls to shake off the danger that could have been. And to share the things that we have learned from the experiences.

Yesterday, my husband was shocked to find that the front door was left open through the night. He's the first one to get out at around 7 am, thus the discovery disturbed him a lot. He even showed us how inviting our door was for a break in -- it was open at least 6 inches wide or more. He went to the basement furnace to check. Our party ref, the dryer, the two washing machines (one for our tenants) and the boiler are still there. Good thing these are heavy machines, but who would stop anyone when they really wanted to get those things out? And what if the food items in the ref are tampered with? I had to check them thoroughly, they are all still tighly wrapped -- but I cannot shake this quesy feeling. If I do use the items in the ref, it would only be to fry them real good.

I dont know how it happened because we usually double lock the front door. This serves as a warning to us -- never to be contented, double locks should also be double checked. In case you are wondering about our tenants, they are using their garden door. Thus, the mistake could have only been from us.

Now, the second close call was from our innocent-looking dishwasher. I found it could could turn to be a dangerous machine. I always take it for granted that nothing bad could happen. Of course we should take care when carrying and piling the plates and glasses to the cupboards; but despite that, I usually ask the kids to help me clear up the dishes. What luck that at that time I decided to do it alone. They were busy playing in the living room so they were not really aware that I would be needing help.

With my bare hands, I usually do the tidying up -- searching once in a while for a kitchen towel to wipe up or polish the wares. But since the machine was just finished with the cycle, the things inside are still moist. Thus, I immediately grabbed a kitchen towel. It was wrapped up in my hand when I reached out for a long glass, planning to polish it. What happened really shook me -- the towel, with my fingers wrapped on it, got stuck. That's when I saw that the glass is broken.

Scary scenarios flashed in my mind -- I mean, what if I wasnt using the towel? What if the kids were helping me? Gory details best not to dwell on. With my shriek of surprise came my husband. He saw that I was holding the broken glass and was immediately contrite. He actually heard glass breaking while the dishwasher was on; he opened the machine and looked, but he didnt find anything disturbing. He helped me look for the other pieces of broken glass; checked if the pieces we found fit, and he immediately brought the glass and the broken pieces down to the dustbin.

Thus, when you hear something that cracked in the dishwasher; check it out. Never stop until you found out what caused it. Your fingers would thank you for that.