Gum on my Shoe

You know how tight your jeans fit right out of the dryer? Then you must also know how, after a couple of wears, they are stretched and loose.

I had a pair of pants that were like that, a perfect fit, waist and leg length, that first day out of the dryer. After that they tended to ride a little lower, making the leg length a little longer. Long enough that I would catch the back hem under my heel.

So, there I was yesterday, my pants comfortably worn into relaxation mode, standing at the ATM machine.

Somehow, I picked up a wad of thrown away gum that attached itself to the hem of my pants. When I stood at the bank machine my ‘too-long’ pants caught under my heel.

The pressure of standing must have given the gum a chance to adhere to the floor and as I turned to walk away, my foot stayed planted on the floor. My body moved forward, but my leg and foot didn’t.

I was caught by surprise, as was the woman beside me waiting for the machine.

She had her wallet out, ready, and I grabbed for her to maintain my balance and avoid falling to the floor.

We had an anxious moment. I was afraid of ending up in a heap on the floor, and she was thinking I was a thief after her wallet. Come on, if I was really a thief I’d have waited until she made her withdrawal at the machine, but like I said, it was an anxious moment.

When I explained my foot was stuck, she gave me a steady hand as I pulled my foot free and discovered the gum on my pants. We laughed as it was comical, and we were both relieved our worse case scenario had not played out.

A word of advice, apply ice to the gum and scrape it off. It may take a couple of applications but it will come off cleaner than if you try and rub it off at room temperature. That’s my handy household tip of the day.