I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March.  You should do it too!  Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing!

On my way to Wegmans, I thought I’d stop by Kohl’s to get Mr. Thought a pair of much needed sneakers. To get to our Kohl’s, you drive by Target, then by an odd empty parking lot first. That odd empty parking lot is where I noticed 3 police cars as one of them drove away. Quickly.

“Hmmm.” I thought as I watched the car go into the Kohl’s parking lot.

And then the other cars sped over too.

Not sure what to do, or where to park, I wondered if I should even go shopping anymore. This is the bad side effect to a good imagination. I mean, in the movie version of this scene, people who still went in the store would most likely be killed somehow, right? I was reminded of a late-night grocery store errand last year. That time, I drove into the almost deserted parking lot, and noticed some sort of hazmat truck, people in full bodysuits, masks, long hoses, and large canisters. That night, I turned around and drove to a nearby grocery store. I know that movie, or maybe that Stephen King book. Nope.

But, somehow today, I kept driving. I ended up with a front row seat to 4 police cars surrounding an SUV, several officers talking to 3 people.

I called Mr. Thought and said, “I was going to go to Kohl’s to buy you some surprise sneakers, but. . .”

Then there was a pat down.

A handcuffing.

A riffling through Kohl’s bags and a holding up of purses.

Another pat down.

I drove away — but just to another parking spot. Mr. Thought really needed new sneakers.

Part of Slice of Life by Two Writing Teachers

It’s not that I didn’t see the huge “Wet Floor” cone in the bathroom. I saw it. I looked around and saw no wetness anywhere. Then I picked the cleanest stall.

But, when I left the stall,  the bottom 1/3 of my pant legs were soaking wet. It’s never good to notice wet pants in the public bathroom. I looked down and only then did I see the lake surrounding the toilet.

I took a deep breath, and propped my foot up under the hand dryer.  I stood there trying to remain calm.

Of course someone else walked into the bathroom.

“Be careful!” I said. And then I tried to quickly tell this stranger why I was doing an odd stance at the wall under the dryer.

Switching legs, I wondered how long a dryer that said “Feel the Power” would take to dry the bottom of my pants.

Too long — it takes too long. So I just left, hoping nobody would notice that the bottom of my pants were dark. I was also hoping it was just water.

Sadly, this all felt a little familiar. Almost 20 years ago, on the way back from our honeymoon, I went to the airplane bathroom, and green liquid seeped up my pant legs. For the rest of the flight I felt it seeping up higher and higher, and the chemical smell gave me a terrible headache.  I thought about that story as I walked around the store, frowning.

I want this story to mean something… “Every 20 years, watch your step!” Or, “When you think things are bad, remember it’s not green liquid seeping up your pants!” Or even, “Don’t try to go on errands after school!” But the reality is,  as I walked around the store quickly, with my pants a little heavier and a grimace on my face,  the only thing that cheered me up was thinking, “Oh! I can slice this!”