Back in April I married Chris Barton, author, excellent cook, and all-round wonderful guy.  Lately we’ve been asking each other questions to answer in writing — it’s part literary stretch and part getting-to-know-you exercise. Today he crafted a lovely piece on personal heroes.  Meanwhile, on my blog, things get silly.

Chris: What’s the most Looney Tunes-like thing that’s ever happened to you?

Me: Ah, last week it was the Beatles, and this week we venture into my other great love. Since the days of Saturday morning cartoons, I’ve been a huge fan of Looney Tunes – especially the ones directed by Chuck Jones. His sense of  humor is right in line with mine. I love his use of exaggeration, clever dialogue, and facial expressions.

It is that third quality that made me think of an answer to your question. I’ve never come across falling anvils or been chased by bald hunters with speech impediments, but there have been a few times when I witnessed or, I’m quite certain, made cartoonish expressions just like those in a Looney Tunes cartoon. I will share two of these events.

One was the episode of the exploding chicken. It was Father’s Day and we were all gathering at my parents’ house. My dad had requested that Mom make him fried chicken for dinner. She and my sister were in the kitchen preparing the meal, and I was in the living room watching my young son. As Mom pulled the chicken pieces out of the oil, she’d place it into a lined Pyrex bowl that was sitting on the stove — not realizing that the burner it sat on was still hot.

From the living room we heard a loud “blam!” followed by shrieks. I raced into the kitchen and found chicken and bowl fragments strewn everywhere. Amanda and my mom stood in the middle of the mess looking something like this:

Another time that felt very Looney Tunes-esque was when I was passing through my kitchen and a drawer suddenly opened – on its own. It didn’t just shift a little either. It slid all the way open, as if pulled by an invisible hand. I am not lying. I’m quite sure my face looked exactly like Daffy’s in this picture:

I stood there thinking, “Holy crap, I’ve just seen something supernatural and no one else is around. No one will believe me. What exactly does one do in this situation?” Before I could answer myself, the door to the cabinet directly under the drawer swung open.

And I looked like this:

Followed by this:

And then … my 18-month-old son climbed out of the cabinet and walked off.