The Absent-minded Professor

I’ve always been absent-minded. In fact, “absent-minded” should be my first name. That way people would be forewarned when I introduce myself.

Diane was away with the children for a weekend. I was therefore alone in our apartment in Kelowna. Just before heading off to Mass on Sunday morning, I went to the kitchen to turn off the element that was keeping the coffee hot on the stove… or at least I thought I was turning it off. In fact, without realising it, I turned it up to high.

When I came back from Mass about an hour and a half later, I noticed a strong smell of burnt plastic as I opened the apartment door which led directly into the kitchen. I then saw the red-hot element on the stove. The plastic cone on the Melita coffee pot had melted onto the stove and caught fire. A little miracle then happened to prevent the building from going up in flames. Diane had left a box of baking soda on the ledge just above the element on which the coffee pot was. When the plastic burst into flames, the cardboard box containing the baking soda also caught on fire. This allowed the baking soda to pour onto the flame and extinguish it.

That was 35 years ago. Since then, a full box of baking soda is always on the ledge of our stove. When I look at it, I see a little angel standing guard and protecting our house against the absent-minded professor.