O' Christmas Tree

I was putting the lights on our Christmas tree this morning when I nearly torched it.

I had connected one strand to the previous strand and only half the lights came on. After a quick deduction I found the culprit, a lone bulb had been broken. I knelt there by the tree picking up the broken bulb pieces and wondering what the possible quick fix would be. I needed those lights. Anywho, there I sat with the broken strand of lights. I thought back to my days at my previous employer where it was my job to set up the company Christmas tree. I remembered that we also had a broken bulb on one of those strands as well and I remembered that when I forced the two wire thingees (filaments?) in the broken bulb together, the strand would work.

So, as I sat there I thought to myself, "Hmmm, why not try it....." I looked at the broken bulb before me with the two wires sticking up and I gently began to ease them over towards one another. Perhaps I should have unplugged them first because the next thing I knew---a spark flew up between the two wire thingees and nearly shocked my socks off. Mom was sitting on the couch nearby but I'm not sure if she caught that flash or not. As I was too afraid of blowing up the whole electrical chord and torching the tree, I immediately unplugged the broken strand and took it to the garage to replace the bulb with a spare.

Probably what I should have done in the first place, rather than nearly scare myself to death. Electricity scares me when I don't know what I'm doing. Pahhhhhh!