Popcorn Popping

Being the mother I am, I decided to do something traditional and memorable for Halloween. I decided we would make popcorn balls-real, old fashioned, homemade popcorn balls. No microwave popcorn, no air popped popcorn, we would use real pan popped popcorn. Sorry - I don't have a wood burning stove or an open fire to do it truly the traditional way. But...I pulled out an old saucepan with a slightly wobbly handle and a secure lid. I also grabbed my trusty screwdriver. I tightened up the handle and rallied my forces, William and Rebekah. We heated our oil, patiently waited until the single kernel popped then we went wild shaking and popping our corn. We'd almost filled my biggest bowl . We were on our last batch of popcorn when calamity struck. Rebekah was at the helm. She'd perfected her technique and she was looking fine when she let out a small shriek. I was busy putting together the ingredients for the syrup but I looked over to see the handle from the pan lid in her hand the lid still on the pan. The popcorn was just beginning to pop like crazy. I grabbed a hot pad rushed in to save the day. I slapped the hot pad on top of the lid and grasp the pan handle only to have it come completely off in my hand. I let out a shriek. By then the popcorn was pushing the lid off the pan! Fortunately another hot pad was handy and I pulled the pan and popping corn off the heat where it continued to push the lid up and popcorn began to hop out onto the stove top and counter. William, Rebekah, and I looked at each other and started to laugh. We laughed until our sides hurt and everyone else in the house had come running to see what was going on. After all the excitement we decided to just pour the hot syrup over the popcorn in a cookie sheet - we will have popcorn bars instead of balls! But William and Bekah will always remember our popping experience. Happy Halloween!