Balloon liberation

Knife: Spyderco Bug

I spent the evening at Mr. O's retirement party at the new(ish, but we still call it that) grammar school. In one of those classic moments where something you always have but rarely make use of is needed and you don't have it, my friend Des asked if I had a knife to cut off a balloon that was tied around a small child's wrist. Now, I'm not hampered by the type of under-developed morality that confuses law with morality (or with religion), but I do try to be a stickler for knife laws, partly because I generally agree with them, partly because I feel that knowing and observing them is simply a part of responsible knife ownership and of being a good ambassador in a world that has developed some unfortunate prejudices and misconceptions. So, unfortunately, I had to tell her that for once I couldn't help her with that, because state law prohibits any kind of blade on a K-12 campus (don't quote me on that, but it's what the law boils down to) and I try to follow that even after hours. However, after a frustrating few seconds of frustration and irony, I realized, wait, I actually can help because I forgot to take my tiny Bug, which I guess I don't even really consider to be a knife, off my keys. And that's how the Bug saved the day. Cutting that tough ribbon off a kid's wrist sure would have been easier and safer if I'd had one of my usual blades available, such as the sheepsfoot on my UK Rescue or the hawkbill on my Ladybug, and it also would have been much easier if I'd been left to handle the job myself rather than having someone getting in the way trying to help and removing all the slack, but I was glad that I still managed to help, even if it was only because of fortunate forgetfulness.

And then Michelle pulled out her Tasman. Oy.