Yes...I Lost A Fight With A Washing Machine

 It took a couple of days for me to notice, but when I did my "Oh, that's interesting" look, I saw it...

A black eye.

The bruised eye didn't hurt. Getting slapped in the face with the lid of a washing machine did hurt...kind of. When it happened, I was more worried about the eye glasses I was wearing than any potential harm to me.

I should have known, really. I should have remembered that the old washing machine that helped out our family in a time of need then made a strange noise--one of those "that can't be good" noises--was out to get me. When it died we put it outside to face the elements of a hot summer and one of the wettest winters on record, I should have known it had a memory and a streak of revenge. 

I should have known because when we moved it both in the house and outside, the lid had a habit of flipping up quickly. I'd been hit by the lid more than once. But, after it sat outside the weekend of our yard sale in blistering heat, someone drove up, asked a couple of questions about the washing machine, then said he'd take it off our hands. He just had an errand to run, then he'd stop by.

After the sun set, the lonely washing machine still stood at the curb, waiting for it's new owner to take it home. I decided we may have to take it to the dump after all. I hauled it up the driveway for the night.

Then, around 10pm, there came a knock at the door. The man had returned and was ready to claim his prize. He backed up his little trailer and he and I set about to load it up. That's when I forgot about the lid.

The lid apparently did not forget.

It slammed me in the face.

After I found my glasses were undamaged, we loaded up the washer and I bid it adieu.

That was Saturday night. I noticed the next day some puffiness above my left eye. No worries, I thought. Sunday came and went, but when I checked my eye Sunday night, I saw it...the shiner. The fact that it didn't hurt made it hard to notice, too.

I thought about the black eye. I couldn't remember if I've ever had a black eye. The last fight I got into was back in elementary school and as I recall it wasn't much of a fight (no fists were thrown...). This may have been my first black eye, ever. 

And it was because of a washing machine.