Summer 2002, Chapter 5

Chapter 3 - Danger! Danger Will Robinson! Do not approach the toaster oven!

So, I've always known the toaster oven was somewhat subject, what with
the fact that I would see a spark behind the control panel every time I turned
it on to make toast, but, this morning proved it to be a danger.

As I always do in the mornings, I popped a couple of pieces of bread in
the toaster oven to toast them for my sandwich for lunch (otherwise,
they go soggy and fall apart). Well, I noticed that, despite having had
the aluminum foil in the bottom changed recently, there was some
black stuff down there, and there was a fresh cheese driblet above
the one heating element. All of this is fairly common with my room
mates - they simply forget to do things like clean up after themselves,
or do the dishes on their dish day (case in point: We have no silverware
left, as dishes, for the most part, have not been done since the weekend).
Anyways, I turned it on, and started working on some other stuff for lunch,
and then went to watch Newsworld, eat my breakfast, and drink my tea.

Well, a few seconds later, I glanced over at the kitchen, and I noticed
there seemed to be some smoke. No big deal - smoke, especially from
the toaster-oven, is a very common occurrence, I mean, after all, there's
frequently cheese burnt onto some part of it. But, there was more smoke
than usual, and there was this odd smell of barbecue.

Well, I walked out of my room, glanced at the toaster oven, and saw
something I'd not seen in it before: Flames. Something on the bottom
of the toaster oven was on fire. My first thought, "I must rescue my toast!"
So, I whipped open the door of the toaster oven and the toast made a quick
retreat from the inside. Then, I unplugged the toaster oven, and began
trying to blow out the flames inside. This was only mildly effective - the
flames almost all went out, but, they quickly recovered, leading me to
believe that someone had cooked something extra greasy in it last night,
as it looked like I had a grease fire on my hands, and no way to smoother
it, as the toaster oven is not a device which is made for becoming airtight.
So, I glanced behind me, at the sinks, and wondered if it would be possible
to find a clean glass anywhere in the house. All of the glasses in and
around the sink were dirty, most of them with half-inch remnants of the
liquids which had previously occupied them, and I did not want to release
the demons of those smells upon the house. So, I looked up.

"The cupboard of glasses" I thought, "there just might be a clean glass
in there, if I'm lucky."

Well, I was in luck, there were still 2 or 3 clean glasses left in the cupboard
("The girls must be slowing down - the glasses were only washed 2 days
ago and they haven't gone through them all yet"), so, I grabbed one, put some
tapwater in it, and hastily doused the fire in the toaster oven.

So help me, if the dog doesn't kill me first, the girls' effect on the appliances
is going to get me.

Previous Chapter: Summer 2002, Chapter 4 - Fools By A Gorge

Next Chapter: Summer 2002, Chapter 6 - Sad Observations for Health



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