Bar Stool Incident

It had been a stressful week, so I decided to go to the local bar with my daughter for a cheeseburger and a couple of drinks.  (BTW-If you ever want an amazing tenderloin sandwich, pizza to die for, or the best fried chicken that I've ever had (and you are in the Peoria, Illinois area), you must go to Gil's Supper Club or The Warehouse - which is the more informal bar that is adjoined and operated by the same great family!) I love going up to the Warehouse.  After my husband passed away, its owner - who was my husband's dearest friend, really looked after me and I always knew that if I was feeling lonely or lost I could pop in there and be greeted warmly, get a great hug and a few laughs from "Mikey" or one of his sons or wife.  It broke all of our hearts when just a little over a year after I lost Chuck - we lost Mikey too and now his sons and wife still run both businesses.  Great family - great place!

So my daughter and I head up there and it is fish night and the Warehouse is packed! We see neighbors and some friends and of course the Smith "boys" who are always fun.  It's like "Cheers" for us - everyone knows our names and it's a great time just about 4 blocks from home! We order the best cheeseburgers in the world and are sitting at the bar visiting with everyone when....it happened!

I got my feet stuck in the barstool!! I had tucked both of my feet under the chair and behind the bar of the bar stool.  I'm a big "foot/leg tucker upper" - I joke that I may be on the "spectrum" (ASD) because I tuck my legs under me and I rock. haha I'm sitting there laughing and having a good time with my feet tucked behind that bar when I feel my one foot start to fall asleep.  I go to reposition my feet and realize that....I can't really move them at all because I can't get them out from behind the stool bar!  I try and try for quite awhile and then finally I quietly say to Bonnie, "Ummm my feet are stuck in my bar stool".  She laughed like I was kidding.  I keep trying to dislodge them and finally she says to me, "Are you serious??" and looks down at my feet. Now the laughing starts.

See my foot stuck?

I tell her she needs to help me, so she gets off her barstool (not before taking the picture) and tries to turn and manipulate my feet so I can pull them out.  The table behind us gets a kick out of it and are laughing.  She gets back on her stool and was like, "I don't know what to tell you...it's going to be heck when you have to use the bathroom".  She then says I could stand up, knock the bar stool down backwards when I do and then step out of it - but I should wait until the place thins out a little.  I'm thinking that might work, when a couple of guys go t pay for their dinner and are standing behind me laughing.  One of them says, "excuse me" and tells me he's dropped his ticket down on the seat of my stool and needs to reach behind me to get it.  I say that's fine and then say, I'd rather it be there then on the floor, because I couldn't get off my stool to move for him to get it.  More laughing and a few strange looks.

About this time, Bonnie announces to our friends tending bar, "Mom has her feet stuck in the barstool!" More laughing and one of them goes back in the kitchen and announces it to everyone else working. Ohhhh boy.  My legs are now both asleep and I'm getting pretty uncomfortable. I've also talked myself into having to go to the bathroom just because I know I can't and I'm feeling this might get kinda serious.  I've complicated the standing up, letting the bar stool fall behind me suggestion - but am pretty sure I can't stand up at this point because my feet are so fast asleep.  This is getting ridiculous!

Finally one of our friends who was working, comes and sits on the stool next to me and studies my feet - laughing of course.  "How in the (heck) did you do that?" ..."how did you get them like that and can't get them back out?"  .....argh.  Finally, after studying the situation a bit he asks, "How about if you kicked your shoes off and tried to get your feet out?"  .......WELL, DUH!!!!

Even though my feet were super asleep, I managed to kick one shoe off, pull that leg up with my arms (because I seriously could not move my legs at this point) and...get it out of the stool!! That let me get the other one out and...I was free!!

WOW!