what, me worry?

 You all know how paranoid  I am

    Let me tell you this. 

     I know all the names of The Monkeys and The Beatles. I remember the characters on WKRP, Taxi and Modern Family.

    I know the starting line up of the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs.

    I know the dates and years of birth of my wife and 2 kids.

    I remember the recipe for the mojito I am currently sipping.

    And yes, sometimes I forget to bring Beth in.....but rarely.

    None of that explains what I did last night.

    I made breaded pork cutlets for supper.  Some corn, diced potatoes that are my version of broasted, but they seem dry.

    Made the cutlets in my cast iron skillet. 

    Dinner was fine.  I cleaned up most of the kitchen except for the skillet.

    After I got Jackie to bed about 10:30, I put the hot pot on for som decaf tea and a little peach pie Emily got me at a craft fair Saturday.

    It's a one serving thing, like the Hostess pies I used to get at Walgreens.  They don't carry them anymore because they said the demand was low.  Every time I wanted one I had to ask where they were because they kept moving them.

    But I digress.

    I cleaned  the pan by wiping it out with a paper towel, then using a soapy paper towel to clean it and then rinsing it.

    To make sure it is dry I put it on the stove and turn on a burner for a couple of minutes.

    I nuked the pie, made the tea, went to the den and about 15 minutes later Jackie asks me what I was cooking.  She actually called me on the phone, which is our new system for when she is in bed and I am not.

    She said something smelled.  I went  to tell her it was a pie, but I too could smell something hot.

    That's when the fire detectors went off, Beth started giving  off a spine tingling howl.  Jackie started yelling and I noticed the smoking cast iron pan still on the burner. Smoke was coming off the pan.

    I turned off the burner, opened the front and back dolors, turned on all the fans and grabbed Beth, putting her outside where the noise was less.

    After a few minutes everything settled down.  Alarms stopped, the smell dissipated and life went on.

    But I was not good.  I sat in the den and darn near cried.  How could I have left the pan on!  What would have happened if I had left the house?  What if it wasn't the cast iron skillet?

    And at the bottom of it all, is it a sign of my mind going?

    I thought about it a lot last night and I just think I was doing too many things at one. time, and doing them too quickly.

    I have learned my lesson.

    I hope.

    And I hope I did not damage the pan.  It is white in parts, but I think if I oil it that will help cure it.

Peace and Love