EXPERIENCES ARE NOT GIVEN TO US TO BE OVERCOME OR FORGOTTEN

Experiences are there for us to learn from, think about and be the better for it. I have had many zany, fun-filled and exciting experiences. I think of them often and I have learned much from them. When I recall these experiences, I laugh at myself and I feel better about myself. My life has been most interesting and I am grateful for everything that has happened to me. In earlier posts I have described some of these to you. In this post I have some others. There is always a first time for anything. And, indeed, as you read this, you will learn of my zany experiences which I hope will not be repeated! I urge you to laugh out loud as you read this.

My First Roast

Many, many years ago, when I was in secondary school our home economics class was asked to prepare special dishes for the Parent’s Day exhibition that the school had organised. This was exciting. We were asked to cook food for grown-ups. Our Home Economics teacher trusted us to produce these dishes. We were excited too, as our dishes would be put on sale.

My partner and I were asked to prepare and cook a roast chicken. We were given a recipe to follow. My partner was the better cook than I. She knew what to do with the marinating of the chicken. All I did was to wash the chicken and then after marinating it we put it in the oven. We watched the chicken closely and tested to see if the chicken was cooked. It looked good…perfectly roasted!

Our chicken was placed on the table of prepared dishes and cakes. It had a price tag on it and I felt so proud when I saw it! Wow! Together with my partner, I had prepared a roast chicken. This was such an improvement to the hard rock buns that I had previously prepared and which no one would touch, not even our pet dog!

The next day when I arrived at school I learned that the school Principal had bought the roast chicken. She had taken it home for her dinner. And when she carved it, she found the bag of giblets in the stomach of the chicken and the chicken had not been washed inside. So, it could not be eaten! Yes, I had not cleaned the chicken properly. I did not know that one has to wash the inside of the chicken, not having handled one before. Yes, you are right; I could not face the Principal after that!

My First Car Accident

I was driving my husband’s car at the time. It was a sporty Japanese model of which he was very proud. I was driving to fetch him from his office. As I came to a traffic light at a crossing, I saw a sports car go past. It had its hood down and I looked at the driver. He was a handsome young man. Aesthetically, he was gorgeous. So I did the disgraceful…I just stared at him. My foot was on the accelerator still, albeit not hard on it, but still on it. And, as my eyes were glued on the driver of the sports car, the inevitable happened! I bumped into the car in front. It was a small car and the bump was just a wee touch!

But I was shocked. I had never had an accident before and I started to shake all over. I was terrified! And I nearly fainted when the driver of the car in front, opened his car door and walked towards me. I could not move but I wound down the window of the car and just stared at him. He was an older person and he had a pen and note-paper in his hand.

He came up to me and I started to stutter an apology. He bent down and looked at me. I said that he should take my car number and phone number and I gave it to him. He nodded and then scribbled something on his note-paper and he held it up for me to see. It said, “I have laryngitis and I have lost my voice.” He wrote his number down for me and then walked back to his car. All I could do was to look up to the sky and say, “God, you have been kind to me!” My first accident and that with a car driven by someone who had lost his voice!

My First Contact Lenses

Wishing to look attractive when I was very young, I decided to purchase a pair of contact lenses. In those days the lenses were hard ones that you could not wear for long hours. If I left them on for too long, my eyes would swell and hurt. One Sunday I attended a games programme in another country. This took over a day and the events culminated in a dinner.

I had my lenses on all the time and I was dressed in hot pants which was the rage at the time. I strutted around feeling glamorous. But, by the evening, my eyes hurt. I got back to my hotel room and fell asleep. In the middle of the night I woke up and found that I could not open my eyes. A crust had formed on both eyes and it was thick! I had to call the hotel reception and requested for a doctor. The doctor came and he removed the crust from my eyes, gave me a tablet to take and I was able to sleep. It was an expensive exercise but one I will not forget easily. It terrified me too that I could not see and had to depend on the hotel staff to help me that evening!

If you have worn contact lenses you will also recognize another problem about them. They drop off easily and at the most unexpected and inappropriate places and times. Many a time I have lost them in the bathroom and the spouse (His Highness, as I call him) has had to go on his knees to look for them. He became an expert at finding lost lenses. The one time he did very well was when one of my lenses fell in a dimly-lit disco. His Highness went on his knees and with a torch light provided by the disco staff he found the lens! His Highness, the lens finder, did it again!