....like when there was a big snake in my bedroom last summer.....
BUT today's bizarre incident was so unexpected that it nearly gave me a heart attack.
It's late afternoon - warm and uncomfortably humid. I'm feeling tired and lethargic, and (as usual) my back (spine) is killing me. So I grab my laptop, prop up some pillows, and crawl into bed.
Here's my laptop
I do a lot of computer work in bed lately. It's comfortable and I like the peaceful, rustic view from my open window.
Cut to the chase, Jon.
I'm setting the mood, Kemosabe. Good stories are like making love. You have to take your time.
So I'm feeling relaxed, for a rare change, and fully absorbed in my work.
A soft breeze is blowing in from the window, dozens of birds are chirping and singing in the nearby forest. My cat Bosco is snoring contentedly.
Suddenly
yes, Suddenly...
there's a LOUD resounding CRASH and something seems to hit my bed with such force that I nearly go into orbit.
The impact shocks me so much that I don't even have time to be scared. But I'm stunned.
A large, extremely heavy chest of drawers - located near the foot of my bed - has toppled over and nearly hit my bed!
At first I can't comprehend WHY, but eventually it occurs to me.
The incident is entirely my fault - - a VERY STUPID mistake.
Explanation:
It is so humid here that the clothes in my drawers are always damp.
AND mice keep constantly getting into the drawers and trying to make nests.
I'm so friggin' disgusted with the rotten dampness and the damn mice that - the other day - I pulled open ALL the drawers at once - - not realizing that the weight could cause a disaster.
In retrospect, I'm surprised that it took over a day and a half for the disaster to happen.
I'm glad neither of the cats were near enough to get hurt.
I'm glad it didn't happen late at night when I was sleeping.
I had numerous items on top of the chest of drawers and miraculously NONE of them broke!!!
Fortunately my El Cheapo camera was near my bed, so I documented everything for posterity.
The mysterious circle on the wall is a reflection from the mirror. Note Bosco the cat, coming to survey the problem.
Bosco, getting a closer look. My other cat Scratch wisely stayed out of the room.
That thing is really heavy but I managed to prop it back up.
I retrieved all the items that were initially on top of the toppled chest of drawers - and NONE of them were broken!
I returned the items to their rightful place on the chest of drawers.
A wooden Hungarian jewelry box
Two antique onyx cats
A vase that I got in Texas
A photo of my parents with my cousin Nancy's parents - the last photo ever taken of them together (they are all now deceased).
The round wooden mirror is from Italy.
The End
for a moment i thought perhaps a ghost had entered your room. glad to hear nothing broke and nobody got hurt. those kitties could have been crushed and you might have ended up with quite a lump on your head or somewhere else. hope the mice steer clear after hearing all that racket. i know what you mean working from bed looking outside. i do it too. it's cathartic.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of a ghost initially crossed my mind! I was expecting to find a lot of damage but was really surprised (and relieved) that there was none. The wall was slightly scratched.
DeleteI really need to get a desk for my bedroom, but I actually prefer writing in bed! (I left my old computer desk in Texas).
That's a gorgeous dresser, and I'm glad that it worked out OK with no breakage. But did it fall over because of added humidity or just because the weight was forward because the drawers were open? Hopefully it wasn't because of the weight of rats!
ReplyDeleteThat dresser belonged to my mother and I have two of them - exactly alike. It's bigger and heavier than it looks in the photo.
DeleteThe weight of the drawers made it topple - I have too many things in them. I think the drawers started SLOWLY rolling out more and more by themselves.
I'm going to get mothballs for the drawers because I heard that mice hate them.
How lucky you are, it could have been much worse. Bad enough, but at least you weren't hurt. I am pleased that lovely mirror came to no harm. Tell me, my friend, are you accident prone? lolol.
ReplyDeleteI never expected this to happen, Valerie, and it really scared the jeeters out of me! I am definitely accident-prone. Strange things always happen to me. I think it's a Hungarian family curse....
DeleteIm still surprised it tipped over like that! Unless you have bars of gold in those drawers? Lol! It's nice seeing the beautiful mirror and jewelry box. Glad you didn't get injured!
ReplyDeleteI have FAR too many things in those drawers and they're definitely too heavy. I only had them open part-way and I think they must have started rolling out little by little until the weight was too much. Really weird!
DeleteOh m'gosh!!! I can only imagine your fright, Jon! Not a week ago Tom, the dogs and myself were all in our comfy places in the den when there came this 'bang-bang-bang!' from the kitchen. Macie and I went running, only to discover the refrigerator must have had a petit mal seizure -- ice cubes were spewing this way and that.
ReplyDeleteSooo glad your mementos weren't damaged. LOVE the painting.
That unexpected crash almost scared me into the middle of next week! It was the last thing I was ever expecting.
DeleteThe attack of the wayward ice cubes sounds funny but it's really weird. Hopefully it won't happen again.
That antique oil painting is one of my favorites. It's a painting of the Alps and I've always had it hanging in my bedroom.
So strange that it took that long to tip over. You are so lucky that none of your treasure broke! That was definitely a weird thing to happen.
ReplyDeleteRita, I only had the drawers open part-way, so I suspect that they must have started rolling out slowly by themselves - until the weight was too much.
DeleteWhen it first happened, I was stunned. I thought the whole wall had
come down or something....
I don't know if this would help or not but you can get rolling clothes racks to hang your clothing on which might help the dampness problem. I keep one in a spare room where I hang clothes that are partially dry after being washed. I've also been seeing a commercial for a de-humidifier lately so such things do exist.
ReplyDeleteGlad no one was hurt.
Believe it or not, I bought a clothes rack the last time I was in Walmart. It's only a single rack, but I plan to get a double one next time. AND I keep it in a spare bedroom.
DeleteThe closets are so small in this house! When I lived in Texas I had numerous walk-in closets.
A de-humidifier might be a good idea....
That must have been quite a loud noise as you said, Jon, and I probably would have fallen out of the bed myself. I'm sure many of us have also opened some drawers, not thinking about the unbalancing issue. Glad that nothing was damaged and you were able to get it all put back again, hopefully without too much discomfort.
ReplyDeleteI thought that opening the drawers might help alleviate the dampness and discourage the mice - - but I never dreamed it could be so dangerous. The crash REALLY scared me. The weight of all the drawers undoubtedly caused the unbalancing issue.
DeleteI'm surprised and relieved that there was no damage! I'll definitely be more careful in the future...
Strange how odd things sometimes strike you and you simply have to write about it. A Similarly odd thing happened once to us ( I shall spare you the details) but I tried to write about it because as I played the scene over in my mind, it was just so strange. Anyway, We enjoyed the story. Everyone loves a great mystery with a simple explanation.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first moved to this rural area I thought my life would be extremely boring - - but somehow I always seem to find things to write about.In retrospect, this particular incident wasn't a big deal but it was completely unexpected and really startled the hell out of me.
DeleteWeirdness indeed. I really like the wood in the dresser, and the handles too. Have you had it long?
ReplyDeleteHope you're staying well.
Mike
Weirdness seems to follow me around (unfortunately) - but it's often due to my own carelessness.
DeleteI actually have two of these dressers, both are exactly alike. They belonged to my mother and I think she bought them around 1990. They are bigger and heavier than they look in photos. The wood is really nice.
I hope all is well with you, Mike. Take care.
Dear Jon, glad you weren't injured. You've reliably kept your head during these trying times and I'd hate to have it destroyed by a lunging sock-drawer. Couple years back I secured my mother-in-law's highboy dresser to a wall-stud with a little "L"-clamp and 2 construction screws. She had a big TV on it!
ReplyDeleteGeo, I think securing a dresser to the wall is a good idea - even if there isn't a big TV on it.
DeleteStrangely enough, when I was about two years old I narrowly missed being killed by a toppling dresser. My parents were visiting a neighbor and I was put in a bedroom with the neighbor's six-year-old son. The boy started rocking an old highboy dresser back and forth. It toppled over - and nearly landed on me!
I've done this or "near done this". It was with my metal filing cabinet in my home office, I was looking for something in the drawers and pulled them all out, from top to bottom one at a time without totally closing the previous drawers. The whole heavy cabinet started to fall but I was there and caught it just in time before the whole cabinet fell on me. I've done that . . . twice.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pictures. Always better to see than imagine.
Ron