Rooftop Launch

Rooftop Launch

“Laurentian, something is going on with the chimney, could you go up and check it? Wear dress warmly, it’s chilly!” his wife Beata called from the other room.

Grumbling, he got into his warmest clothes, not forgetting the wide scarf he liked to wear over his face.

“Much better than a balaclava, since I don’t feel like I’m viewed as a criminal,” he told himself.

Once outside, he had to dig out the ladder and place it securely up to the roof. He climbed carefully and made his way to the chimney area. To his astonishment, he found a box stuck in the opening of the chimney.

“It’s blocking the smoke and draw; I better get it out of there!”

He tugged and he pulled. It wouldn’t move. He then got up and stood inside the crate-like box and tried jumping up and down on it. Without warning, it broke free and sailed into the air with him balancing for dear life inside.

“It’s gonna hurt when I land!”

But he felt his scarf begin to balloon out. He had the presence of mind to untie it and grab both ends. Like a mini parachute, it carried him safely to the ground while the box went sailing away.

When Laurentian shakily made his way back inside and told his wife what happened, she was horrified. She wrapped him snugly in a warm blanket and made him coffee with a little something extra.

“Who do you suppose did that?” she wondered.

“I have an idea, but I can’t prove it. Would you make me a new scarf like my favorite one? Maybe a little longer and wider?”

“Of course, I’ll get right on it!”

Laurentian added a little more something extra to his coffee to ward off the horrors.