It is inevitable that whenever one asks, "What's the worst that could happen?" the worst will happen. This is why it is important, before uttering this phrase, to ensure that "the worst" is an outcome one is prepared to handle.

Saturday afternoon I didn't remember I was out of Cascade until after I had loaded the dishwasher and was ready to run it. So I decided to give regular dishsoap a try. Beth, who was visiting for the weekend, questioned if it was a good idea to which I, of course, replied, "What's the worst that can happen? The dishes don't get clean? That's no worse off than I am now. Or maybe the dishwasher gets too sudsy spews bubbles onto the kitchen floor. But come on. That only happens in sitcoms." So I close up the dishwasher and set it running.

Well, I think by now you know where this is going. Beth and I head off to the living room to chat. 30-45 minutes later I head back into the kitchen only to find the kitchen floor half-covered with suds leaking from the dishwasher.

I felt like I was living in an episode of The Brady Bunch.