The Old Coot broke his O-ring

I had a blowout the other day! Not the tire on my car. It was my travel mug that blew a gasket. Most mornings, when I leave the Owego Kitchen, I get a warm-up to accompany me on the walk home. Refills are free with the purchase of coffee. Kind of nice! I claim to use a thermos mug because it saves paper cups and helps the environment, but I really do it because I want my coffee to stay hot for the rest of the morning so I get a “walk-home” refill. I’m a cheapskate who knows a good deal when he sees it.

Anyhow, I put the travel mug in my messenger bag that also holds a notebook loaded with ideas for Old Coot articles and a wad of half written ones. I made it across the street and into the M&T Bank parking lot when I felt a wet stream running down the side of my leg. I looked down and noticed my shirt was wet as well. 

A quick check into the bag solved the mystery; it wasn’t me that was leaking fluids, the mug was the culprit. Though it usually is me, with blood leaking out after bumping an arm or leg on a sharp edge. It’s what happens when you have thin, old man skin. Coffee soaked the bag and then me. Did I leave the stopper open? Did I forget to tighten the lid? No! It was the O-ring that seals the top; it was bent out of shape. “Good,” I thought to myself, “It isn’t my fault.”

I lumbered home through the village in wet, coffee-stained pants, and shirt, hauling a drenched shoulder bag. Now I’m home, in dry clothes, writing this, happy as a clam. If my clothes come out of the washer with stains, it won’t be my fault (for a change) and I won’t hear my wife say, “Tsk, Tsk,” or be referred to as the Stain Man. 

A skilled surgeon on the operating room table in our kitchen repaired the twisted out of shape 0-ring. It’s back in service, ready for action, and I can walk through town with some semblance of dignity. 

Comments? Send to mlesssler7@gmail.com.

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