A Two Alarmer

A common word that has taken on a new meaning (well, maybe a better understood meaning) during this quarantine we are currently experiencing is 'essential'. We all have our own list of what we consider essential and each one will vary in some way.  Age will add to or take away from your list.  What is important now at my age wasn't so 'essential' a few years ago.

Because my age puts me in the at risk category, and strict orders from my daughter to stay at home, I found it necessary to place my grocery order and use the convenient curbside pickup. That is another blog post at another time. I made my grocery list of 'essentials' and picked them up several days later at my assigned time.  Both KOP (King of Patience) and I will be rocking the 70's decade this year so it should be no surprise that prunes was on my list of 'essentials'.  I like to cook them, put them in my oatmeal, yogurt, or just eat a couple as a snack.

Today, I emptied my little containter of prunes in my pan, covered it with water, and started the cooking process. It only takes a few minutes and  I needed to check my email for a reply from a recent scam (yes, I got scammed and that is another blog post at another time), so off to the computer I went. 

The shrill sound of an alarm suddenly pierced the silence and I hesitated a few seconds wondering what on earth KOP had done to set it off.  I closed out my email, got up from the computer, and headed that direction to investigate.  I had only made a few steps when the smell of something burning met me headon. I rounded the corner to the kitchen only to discover smoke boiling from my pot of prunes like a Mt St Helens erruption!  I grabbed the pot, truned off the stove, and headed to the sink to cool it off with water while KOP was punching at the alarm, speaking in tongues, trying to stop that infernal beeping.  I grabbed a magazine, stood on a chair, and started fanning the smoke in effort to shut it up when a second alarm started sounding off, and this one had a voice that told us to Evaucate Now! 

And that is when KOP headed toward the back door, leaving me standing on the chair trying to stop the eardrum puncturing noise that was telling everyone within a half mile, including the cemetery residents across the road, that Connie let the prunes burn.  He didn't even say, "Come on, Sweetheart, lets get out of here!" It was obvious that in an emergency it was going to be every man/woman for himself/herself. 

I stepped down out of the chair, abandoned the still shrieking alarm, and headed in his direction to address my concern with him when I realized that KOP was only going to the other alarm and attempting to quiet its stern orders to evacuate.  After a few minutes of open windows and doors, we were able to silence both of them.  

Then it dawned on me...my essential prunes were cremated, I can't go to the grocery store, the next date I can schedule a grocery pickup for more would be next week sometime, and my whole house smelled like burnt purnes!