Friday, June 18, 2010

Flatware, tornadoes and serendipity

An e-mail from Pottery Barn alerted me to some exciting news: The outdoor flatware that I had been eyeing for months had gone on sale! Pottery Barn sale items don't stick around very long, so I decided to take a detour on my way home and stop at the store.

When I got there, the weather suddenly changed. In the time it took me to get from my car to the Pottery Barn entrance, the sun disappeared, the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees, the sky turned ominously grey, and it started to rain really, really hard. The wind was so strong I needed both hands and a good yank to get the door opened. I got in, but had to hold on to the door so it wouldn't slam closed behind me.

Two ladies who watched my tussle with the door, were now staring at my hair. I can only imagine what I looked like. With all the dignity I could muster I said: “You may not want to leave just yet. It's rather windy out there.” That must have been the understatement of the year.

The rain would not abate, so I had a lot of fun poking around in the store. I sat on all the furniture, felt the fabrics, crushed the towels, smelled the candles, and still the rain kept coming.

Then the tornado sirens went off, and we were politely escorted to the store's basement for safety. To be sure, the tornado was scary, but, holy cow! I was standing in Pottery Barn's basement! I felt like freaking Ali Baba standing in the cave with the treasure of the 40 Thieves!!!!! I mean, there are worse things in life than getting stuck in Pottery Barn's basement during a tornado!

My flatware sat waiting at the register, and when we were cleared to return, the cashier rung up the sale as though nothing unusual had happened . . . and then she asked me for my e-mail address so I could be apprised of exciting happenings at their store.

7 comments:

Samantha said...

Holy mackerel! It may take you a while before you can use that flatware without thinking about when you bought it!

pat said...

Well, "exciting happenings" takes on an entirely different meaning now! I just laughed at your comparison to Ali Baba's cave...so true!!

Jeanne said...

What an exciting adventure (?!) to get your lovely flatware. You'll have fun sharing that story for a long time to come! I am glad you made it safe and sound! Wow!

xinex said...

Thta's scary and exciting at the same time. At least you were in the basement. The flatware is very pretty!..Christine

Suzy said...

ROFL, I love your writting! So does a "tornado" fit the catergory of exciting events at the store? Great post! Glad you dropped by and were safe during the storm!

Joanne said...

Loved your post! I enjoy your writing very much. So scary though with a tornado warning but I'd be thrilled to be stuck in Pottery Barn's basement! Love your flatware!

Angela2932 said...

I love your concluding sentence! My "tornado basement" was not nearly exciting--just a dank, wet, stinky, bare bank basement. Dianna got stuck at Motor Vehicle, renewing her license. Doug was in a church basement, taking a break from baking rhubarb pie.