Everything's fine

Guys, and gals for that matter, the phrase that pays when you've done something stupid, or God forbid have to tell your spouse about an actual emergency is, "Everything's Fine."

That phrase must lead the way when you make that unexpected phone call. Not sure when I learned that but it was well into married life. Today it paid off. I turned the stove on, warming up my favorite frying pan to make some Boca Chik'n Patties and then returned to my studio for a quick project review.

A short time later I walked into, let's say a small cloud of smoke. Now. This is about the time my wife was to return from work and I did not want her to be frightened or frustrated with our current air quality fiasco. We rarely chat during business hours so I led with the phrase that pays.

She then put me on speaker phone so that I could repeat what I had done allowing her co-workers to gain some evidentiary excitement to the stories she tells them of me. We need a new pan. We need not worry. Safe words can take on many forms. Remember to use them to keep yourself out of a jam.