"Full Moon At High Noon"

Have you ever been embarrassed? Well, sure you have. Lots of things can happen on any given day that might cause us to be a little embarrassed. We get through it. Perhaps we blush a little or just laugh it off. It's over. It doesn't stick with us to ruin our day - on most occasions. Sometimes a person who clearly knows us, starts talking to us and we don't have a clue who they are. That's embarrassing, but with a little maneuvering and pretending, it's manageable, right? Or maybe we forget a friend or family member's birthday. We've all done that. Not a horrible embarrassment.

 I was reading an article recently about various ways in which people had embarrassed themselves publicly. Yikes. Pretty horrifying. The article talked about a bride who stepped on the train of her own wedding gown and ripped off the bottom of her dress - in public! Another story was about people at a wedding reception who had a little too much to drink and while dancing, actually crashed into the cake table. Ooooh, show me the way to go home - and now! That would be an embarrassment not soon forgotten. I'm assuming that if we got into things that people have done when they've had too much to drink, this column could go on much longer than it should!

We've all known of situations when a public speaker may "burp" or begin hiccuping at a podium - or worse, when someone publicly develops flatulence. That's hard to hide! How many of you have actually seen someone, male or female, walk out of a public restroom with tissue trailing from the sole of their shoe? Whether you know that person or not, the only humane thing to do is tell them....and fast! Something we have all done at least once is fall down in public. Why is it that our first response when we see this happen is to laugh! It's always our SECOND response to ask if the person is all right.

Well, by request, I'm going to share with you a story about "someone I know" who - years ago -
embarrassed herself in public and the story spread like wildfire through our little hamlet of Chester.
Yeah, it was me. No need to pretend it wasn't. It was a Sunday. We had just arrived home a little late from church and my son had an event he had to go to early that afternoon. He was hungry and it was apparent that with the time crunch, there would not be time to fix him lunch. He wanted chicken. Ok, I completed a couple of necessary perfunctory duties, before dashing out the door and to the car. Hardee's was my destination, as at that time, they served fried chicken. Now remember, time was key. I parked in the parking lot, dashed from the car into the restaurant only to stand in line before I could order. It appeared I wasn't the only person with this idea. I kept looking at my watch. Gotta hurry! Gotta hurry! It was almost Noon. Finally I reached the front of the line and others were in line behind me. I ordered his chicken dinner and waited. When it arrived, having already paid, I turned around and found that all of the people behind me were staring at me - oddly - and THEY looked a little embarrassed. Not to be deterred, however, I smiled and dashed to the condiment counter to gather what was needed. It was at that moment that reality set in. For the first time, I felt a draft, a definite draft in the posterior regions. I reached around and realized that my skirt was tucked into my panty hose, completely from left to right. Wow. I quickly rectified the situation and turned on my heel. I looked at the crowd of over a dozen sheepish people - and said something like, "It's pretty bad when your (bleep) is showing in your hometown and nobody has the decency to tell you!" I lifted my head, stuck out my chin and walked out as if they were the ones who should have been embarrassed! In reality I was so embarrassed I could have cried. But I didn't want THOSE PEOPLE to know it!
When I got home I quickly told my son the story and he said, "I'll never be able to show my face in this town again!" Really??? What about me? It wasn't his (bleep) that was showing! Smile.
Well, by the next morning when I got to work, the story met me immediately, told pretty much to perfection. They got it all right. What could I do? I owned it. And we all laughed. From that time on, that event in my life has been known to those who know me as "Full Moon At High Noon".

I guess, if I gained any wisdom from that event in my life, it would be to not take things too seriously. We have to laugh at ourselves, because its a cinch people are going to laugh at us. One thing is for sure. Sooner or later and in one way or another, we all show our (bleep) and it's usually when people are around to see it. Get over it. Move on. Laugh.

It's a beautiful day. You know where I'll be. Enjoy this weather while you can. It's a gift.