There's Something Stuck up in the Ceiling -- 12/1/00 "Don't do it!" That's what my wife implored, after I suggested that I go into the rafters to get the Christmas decorations down. My wife needed to get the Santa suit for a friend, and I was hell-bent on proving that I could do it without further injuring myself. So, she very reluctantly agreed, and I hopped my way up the ladder and into the space above the ceiling. Whoah! Hopping around on 2x4's separated by a couple of feet was trickier than I thought. I decided to straddle the distance on my knees, as I passed boxes down to my waiting wife. Suddenly, my right knee slipped off its precarious perch and slammed down onto the unsupported ceiling panel. Thud! I was dumbstruck. I looked down and was so relieved that my knee didn't seem to have done any damage. I continued to send down boxes to my wife, and soon enough completed the job. After foraging a bit for some old surf mags, I came down to solid ground, to the relief of my wife. About an hour later, I went to the bathroom to give my daughter a bath. To my horror, I found that my slip had indeed damaged the ceiling. It looked like a wood panel was pushed down and the overlaying plaster had several large cracks. To top it off, the Santa suit wasn't even in one of the boxes up there. Ho ho ho!