Saturday, out and about, cell phone rings and it is my sister. Wants to give me something. I’m West, going East, then South. She is South, going North then East. Our paths will intersect so a meeting place is arranged. I get there first. As she drives up, her significant other in riding shotgun. Good thing, his keys are in the passenger door lock. Business is conducted through his open window with both of them staying in the truck cab. As they are about to leave, I remove his keys from the lock and hand them to him. Light razzing and mild hilarity follow; then they drove away.
What I didn’t bring up was an incident from a few years before when my office called. I was 400 miles from home and had been gone a day when the little five foot nothing from the office called. Seems the keys to one of my vehicles, parked in front of my house, were in the drivers door. Some good citizen saw advertising material with my employer’s information lying on the seat and called. Since I had extra keys, I requested the little shit from the office (we mutually detested each other) have the good citizen toss the keys on the floor and lock the door. The car would have been hard to steal as it had an anti theft device attached to the brake pedal. Same concept as the CLUB, but goes on the brake or clutch pedal arm. That key, and my house key, are always separate from my ignition and trunk key.
Luck, or chance, plays a big part in our lives. Over the years, I’ve had more than my share. Once I came out of my motel room in Fullerton, CA to find all four doors of my Lincoln Town Car open.
Older Town Cars and Crown Vics are easily started with a “slap” key. Seems the motel had been robbed and I suspect my car had been selected as an escape vehicle. The cost of the anti theft device paid for itself that day.
One of the never ending problems of car lots are keys. Lost keys. Keys locked inside a vehicle. Keys in a sale person’s pocket. (I would NEVER keep the keys to some desirable vehicle so other sales people couldn’t sell it. NO, NO, not me) Over the years you get proficient with a slim jim and other lock out tools. Some vehicles I can open as fast with a slim jim as most folks can with a key.
So, anyhow, I only lightly ribbed my sister’s S.O. No need to invite bad karma and, once again, prove this blog title is accurate.
3 comments:
I admire your restraint.
And I hate it when someone locks themselves out of a car, what a pain in the ass.
LOL, when I was a volunteer fireman, I carried a bag with my fire gear that had various fire tools and a center punch and baby slim jim in the truck all the time. One evening at the station I was repacking the bag on the tail gate when one of the local deputies pulled in. He looked over what I had laid out on the tailgate, and told me I could be arrested for the slim jim and center punch... Re keeping the keys separate, there is what 'appears' to be a house key on my truck key ring, but it's not going to open any front door anywhere :-)
@ Ami Can cast a pall on the day.
@ NFO Always have enough specialized tools to get me arrested. Years ago I dated a policewoman. She, or her agency, often called me to come open a car.
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