You know those times you lost your mind with laughter and had a difficult time stopping? That happened on the Main Street in Bayfield six years ago with my friend Laurie. Passersby must have thought we were drunk in the middle of the day, bent over laughing with tears running down our faces for no apparent reason.
We had been shopping – mostly window-shopping – and stopped to pick up a large painting that Laurie had made at a studio on the main drag. Laurie gets to drive a variety of vehicles because her husband owns a car lot and on this summer’s day, she had a hot little red convertible.
The car wasn’t much wider than the canvas and it presented a challenge. We tried the trunk, which was too small, and I even considered holding the painting while we drove. Finally, we moved the front seats up as far as we could, set the painting on the back seat and thought we had it figured out. Laurie hit the button to put the top down, and in a flash, the painting tipped and caused this to happen.
The painting got trapped on the mechanism for the top and it wouldn’t move. The size was perfect and it stayed wedged there for the longest time while we tried to figure out what to do. It actually made the vehicle look like a Flintstones car. And then it started to rain and we started to laugh. It was, and is, a ridiculous moment.
We finally used a bit of muscle and jimmied it free but it took teamwork and timing, with several failed attempts. I’m happy to report that the painting was none the worse for wear. It’s one of those things that’s likely mildly amusing to anyone else but to us, it was downright hilarious. Once we gave in to the giggles, we definitely drew attention to ourselves. To this day, all I have to do is mention it and Laurie and I dissolve into laughter.