Incident

There are some things animals aren't equipped to handle--modern inventions that several million years' evolution has not prepared them for. So last night, when Cairo got his head looped in the cable that connects the joystick to the Playstation, his immediate reaction was to tug and backpedal as much as a dog with only three legs can.

I sprang from my chair and tried to grab the cable, but I was too late.

*CRASH*

"What the hell was that?" called the s.o. from the kitchen, where he was grabbing one of the insanely addictive peanut butter brownies I made the previous day.

"Cairo got his head caught in the Playstation," I called back.

Rarely have I seen the s.o. move so quickly. Cairo, already bewildered, started and skittered into a corner.

The s.o. picked up the unit and reconnected the plugs. Then he started shouting something that sounded like "Ox! Ox!" Luckily I knew he meant "Aux," which is the channel before 1 that auxiliary machines such as Playstations and DVD players use. I hit the channel button on the remote.

A peaceful Playstation setup screen greeted us. No tragedy in Vice City tonight.

"Whew," the s.o. panted. Then he affected an air of casual-ness. "They make those things tough so they can stand abuse from children," he reasoned.

"Can I go back to watching 'Law & Order'?" I asked.