My Little Mishap

A few weeks ago my family and I took a little jaunt over to the coast to see some beautiful homes my dad is building in Netarts, OR. We finished off our time at Pelican Pub in Pacific City- a fine dining choice to anyone who ventures that direction. And of course our outing wouldn't be complete without some sort of Palmer mishap.

There were seven of us in our party and the hostess said that she could either sit us in two back to back booths, or there would be a considerably long wait for a table large enough. We opted for the two booths. When led to our tables we noted that these were extra long booths- the kind that comfortably seated six, however, after inquiry, they could not allow a chair placed at the end due to fire safety regulations. Well, it didn't take too long for us to decide to forgo the two booth idea and just squeeze into one booth. Yes, we got funny looks from employees and patrons alike, but it was a close bonding experience nonetheless.

One would think that a person would be perceptive enough to realize that in such tight quarters it would be unwise to "goof off" due to the high likelihood that a mishap of any sort would be very likely.

I had a moment of clouded judgement.

Rewind for a moment to Thanksgiving. My cousin Taylor and I entertained ourselves for an extended amount of time with our water glasses and coasters. You see, what you do, is place the coaster on the edge of the table with it partially hanging over the side. Then, with your four fingers, flick it upwards and forward, aiming for it to land perfectly on the top of the water glass. Another variation can be done without the water glass and you simply flick upwards and then try to clasp it with the same hand when it is coming down. Both methods are entertaining and require quick hand eye coordination.

Back to the smooshed family dinner at Pelican Pub. There was a coaster and water glass in front of me. I was showing off my skill of the latter of the two variations, only trying to clasp the coaster on its way down. This is when the mishap occurred.

In my attempt to retrieve the free falling coaster, with my limited range of motion due to the cramped quarters, I hit the water glass propelling it towards me and directly into my lap. Well, this caused me to jerk upward, trying to avoid the ice cubes and cold water causing more upheaval of the table contents. Needless to say I caused quite the incident. Let's just say no one else was as amused as our family. And I was soaked for the remainder of dinner while avoiding all eye contact from the people walking by our table.

I learned my lesson though. Before entertaining myself with coaster games, evaluate the situation and remove anything that could compromise the integrity of the game.