Thanks, Y'all, for your warnings and well wishes! So far, so good.

Since I'm prone to putting my left foot down first, I unclip my left (SPD) shoe when I see a stop up ahead. I then coast with my left foot either dangling or resting, unclipped, on the pedal while unclipping my right foot before the stop actually occurs. In truth, I have experienced a couple of those millisecond "almosts." I'm getting better at it and have converted my three road bikes to the SPD's while keeping my hybrid and commuter on Meat Locks.