There was an explosion tonight.

I volunteered to cook supper. And an autumn meal meant lots of fresh veggies from the garden. In particular, Yukon Gold potatoes and a variety of mild peppers.

The grill was fired up. The potatoes went on first, then the peppers and finally the bratwurst. Everything sizzled to perfection giving us a last taste of the summer.

When it was hot and ready, I served up the meal and my family dug right in. Potatoes were passed, sausages were sampled, and the peppers were parceled out.

I greedily filled my plate taking a sampling of everything.

The peppers were of highest interest. Glistening with olive oil and slightly blackened, I bit into the first. Sweet, soft and delicious!

Then the second pepper. Not as sweet, but healthy in flavor. Yum!

Finally, I picked up the third small pepper. I tore in aggressively, expecting to taste just a hint of spice. Instead something else happened. An explosion!

Apparently the not-so-spicy pepper was in fact, rather spicy. Alarmingly so. And the heat exploded in my mouth. Not gradually, but immediately. It was all I could do to get to the sink and start a water rinse procedure in my mouth.

Laughter howled from the dinner table and my daughter ran over smiling with the milk jug from which I drank obscenely. Water milk water milk. Arrrgghhh!

Finally, the pain subsided and I could once again sit down to finish the rest of the otherwise tasty meal. Chuckles continued to make their way around the table, and all I could do was laugh at myself. There will be memories, no doubt.

When I said I would make dinner, I had not figured there would be an explosion. I had not counted on discovering that an innocent pepper would turn on me.

But that is where the fun in life comes from. The unexpected. A good joke has an unexpected twist.

Things so rarely go the way we plan. Why fight it? Roll with what life brings us and build those memories.

Who knows? Maybe there will be an explosion.

Today’s giving: I expected to make dinner and do dishes. Instead, I made dinner, did dishes and got a memory tossed in for free.