Off-Cut Twenty Nine

This story arrived by coincidence the same day a workshop exercise was to be performed in which people simultaneously and for different reasons experience a surprise. The scene being explored in the workshop was from "Looking for Alibrandi" but here is an entertaining real life story in which similar ingredients are operating even if the circumstances are extremely different.

Value of a Good Pair of Underwear

Be careful what you wear (or don't wear), when working under your vehicle especially in public. From the Sydney Morning Herald News comes this story of a central west couple who drove their car to K-Mart only to have their car break down in the parking lot. The man told his wife to carry on with the shopping while he fixed the car there in the lot.

The wife returned later to see a small group of people near the car. On closer inspection she saw a pair of male legs protruding from under the chassis. Although the man was in shorts, his lack of underpants turned private parts into glaringly public ones. Unable to stand the embarrassment, she dutifully stepped forward, quickly put her hand up his shorts and tucked everything back into place.

On regaining her feet, she looked across the hood and found herself staring at her husband, who was standing idly by. The mechanic, however, had to have three stitches in his head.

It is interesting for those interested in analysing these processes how important the commitment to another expectation is to the outcome of this story. The surprise which unfolds is not only for the participants but also for the audience/reader.

May 2001