Domestic Oblivion

I Should Take My Own Advice

I am fond of saying “don’t cut toward yourself” and then telling the story of saying that exact thing to my father as I walked through the garage while he was sectioning out his dahlias with a scalpel.  Less than 5 minutes later, dad walked into the kitchen with the scalpel embedded between the two large tendons on the inside of his left wrist.  And lo, the irony of  that has never ceased  amusing me*; the man was a pathologist, spent years of his life wielding a scalpel, and let me know I shouldn’t cut toward myself every single time I even thought about picking up a knife as a child.

The other day I found myself saying to myself  “probably shouldn’t be doing this” as I was using a newly sharpened pair of kitchen shears to pry off the metal clasp on a bag of ice.  Of course, the shears slipped and ended firmly lodged into the knuckle of my thumb.  I am fully aware that a pair of pliers really would have been better suited for the job, I was simply too lazy to take the 20 steps to the garage to retrieve them.

And so, I offer this advice:  take the time to get the proper tool for the job, and please, don’t cut toward yourself.

*Note*:  Please note that I am not amused by his actual injury, but the irony of it. 

2 Comments so far
Leave a comment