Shocking!

People who know me, know I've always been one who heeds warnings and follows instructions, you might say I'm the overcautious one. Today, I should have done just that. I should have taken the warning label seriously.

The day started out like all other training days on the road. The three of us trainers met on the first floor of the hotel at 7:15 am to ride together out to the training site. Before we left, I made a little detour into the laundry room to change a five dollar bill into 20 shiny new quarters. Diet Coke money.

I hurriedly threw the quarters into my pocket, along with the rechargeable camera battery (one in each front pocket) and a few pennies already in the pocket, and then rushed out the door.

While one instructor is training, the other two of us sit on chairs in the back of the classroom and observe (that is code for trying to stay awake). All was going well, when suddenly, I felt something odd in my pocket. It felt like a bee, trapped in my pocket, just stung me. I grabbed at the pocket and moved it a little, thinking that something in my pocket was poking me and I could move it. It didn't help. Whatever it was, it was HOT and it was getting HOTTER.

My heart began to race. My anxiety level increased rapidly. I thrust my hand into my pocket, trying to rid myself of whatever was burning my leg. It was beginning to feel like someone threw a lit cigarette into my pocket.

There it was, too hot to just grab and pull out: the camera battery, surrounded by quarters. A camera battery alone, in my pocket, is no cause for alarm. But when you surround a battery with conductive metal (quarters) it becomes a short circuit for the battery and the battery HEATS UP. FAST.

When I was finally able to grasp the battery and fling it across the room, since it was still too hot to handle, I remembered the warning that I read on the package (the warning that I scoffed at when I read it). The warning went something like this: do not place this battery where metal conductors can touch both ends of the battery at the same time.

Next time I'll listen...