This past week, I was reminded of this story by James Thurber: The Night the Bed Fell On Father. Actually, I was just reminded of the title, as I couldn't recall anyhting about the story, which if you decide to read it, you will find that he holds it to be non-fiction. I won't dispute his claim, but I do note in passing that any good story teller has long since mastered the art of embellishment. Anyway, if you want to read his humourous account, you have the link.
By now, the shrewd among you have already figued the gist of this anecdote. Yes, I rolled over in bed the other night, and it collapsed under me. (He said unhumourously.)
It was the guest room bed which we recently traded for. It was not a good trade. Previously, we had two single beds side by side to form one gigantic and fairly comfortable kingsized bed. However, when the opportunity arose to exchange it for a moderately sized double bed, it seemed like the thing to do. However, it turns out not to be a great mattress (to put it mildly), and now we know that the frame is a little suspect too, for it has no cross pieces. So when the railing that the mattress sits on shifted a little, the dadgum thing fell onto the floor .... WITH ME IN IT!!
It wasn't terribly difficult to put it back together except that I am not a tool sort of guy. Therefore, the only wrench that I could find to fit was a big adjustable one, and I couldn't find the room between the frame and the floor to maneuver it. Eventually, we solved that problem; I lifted the bed high enough off the floor for Cuppa to crawl under there and tighten the bolts.
No damage done of course, and it's something to talk about in a blog post after all. Life is full of opportunities, eh? There was another benefit to be reaped as well because I also printed it off and read it to Cuppa. We haven't had material for our bedtime reading lately, so for one night we did.
BTW, Thurber writes better than I do. Hint, hint.
Oh Dear! LOL :-D If it was me, i think the fright would have finished me off!!! Were you sleeping at the time?
ReplyDeleteHow about the story behind the story. What are you doing sleeping in the spare bedroom?
ReplyDeleteThe bed I use has been know to do as yours does. It is old. It is the bed my parents bought when they got married.
lol! I broke an older bed once as a young teenager. I had been babysitting until the wee hours of the morning and watched a frightening horror movie on TV. I was fearful of someone being under the bed and grabbing my feet. I turned out the light and took a running leap the the bed, which collapsed and awoke the household. My dad fixed it and it is still in our home (over 80 years old).
ReplyDeleteHahaaa...SO GLAD no one was harmed in the making of this post!!!hughugs
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Any writer worth his salt embellishes things just a little bit. I think it is something that you do without realizing it. But I followed your link to the story and got a kick out of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm just glad that no one was hurt in your incident. I'm sure it was a rude awakening. Last year, Brandon, who is a big boy for his age, ran and jumped on our bed one day when he was here. The frame gave out in the top corner and down went the bed with him on it. The look on his face was precious. I laughed!
I enjoyed visiting with you, as always and a holly, jolly Christmas to you too. :-)
Blessings,
Mary
Got caught up---the collapsing bed story was just like icing on a cake.
ReplyDeleteI tend to nearly fall out of bed whenever I sleep in a single bed, since I am used to a huge kingsize one for me alone! It hasn't happened yet, but the day will come!
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn't hurt yourself by dropping on the floor!
A double! That's blasphemy. At least in my books. That's what this event is trying to tell you. Go big!
ReplyDeleteyow, not the sort of surprise in bed I'd hope for. glad it worked for amusement.
ReplyDeleteyow, not the sort of surprise in bed I'd hope for. glad it worked for amusement.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you had to have that experience, but thank you for reminding me of Thurber's story! He was one of a kind.
ReplyDelete