It's the winter of 1982, it's cold out and it's snowing. I just shut down Free Wheeler for the night and stopped at the bank to make the night's deposit. I get out of my 1978 Buick Regal, leaving the car running, with the heater, radio, wipers and rear window defroster on. I hit the door lock button, shut the door and, just as the door clicks shut, realize I've just locked my keys in the car. It's 2 in the morning and I'm standing in the center of Sugarhouse holding a bag full of cash, so the first thing I do is make the deposit. Then I search my pocket for a dime and head off to the nearest pay phone. (It's '82, cell phones were still that thing Captain Kirk used to get Scotty to beam him up). I call home and my little brother (1/2 of the Gearheads here) and ask him to grab my mother's spare key and come down, in the middle of a snow storm, and unlock the car for me and save my ass. Lucky for me, he doesn't just head back to bed.
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Back to 2008. It's around 6:30 in the evening and I'm heading out to Best Buy to get some DVD's for the break from school. There's already 5 or more inches of snow on the ground, and it's still snowing. I start my 2004 Subaru, turn on the radio, heater, wipers and rear window defogger. I hit the lock button to unlock the back so I can get the scraper out, slam the door and go to the back hatch. The handle comes up without a click, just air. Crap! I hit the wrong side of the lock button and locked the car instead of unlocking it. So, I'm standing out in a snow storm with a car that is running, with all the accessories turned on, thinking "Where have I seen this before?" Luckily it's not '82 any more and I happen to have a cell phone in my pocket, and even though the house is locked, I am at home. I call - guess who - c'mon, you can figure it out. Yup, my little brother, who has had a key to almost all my cars since 1982. My sister-in-law answers the phone (the other half of the Gearheads) and says that they will come save my ass again (my wording, not hers), but that it will take a few minutes because they are hosting a party and one of them will have to be dropped off at the place first. And before my toes have time to go completely numb, my brother shows with the key.
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Thank you Gearheads for pulling my butt out of the freezer once again. I promise it won't happen again until 2032.
6 comments:
Well, at least you like variety. The last time you locked your keys in the Subaru, it was waaay too hot for comfort. Of course, this time, at least, you were close enough to home to call someone who had a key..... But, last summer, at least the car wasn't running......
I don't know; it's a toss up.
Yeah, last summer was exciting becasue it was a whole new twist to locking myself out of the car. I'd never done it outside the fence of a small airport, in 110 degree weather right by an upside down airplane. It was a whole new experience sitting on the side of the highway waving at the passing cars. This time I decided to go retro, with a little twist - being in my own back yard and all. If locking yourself out of a car were an Olympic event, I think they both would have rated a 9.7. Definitely bronze material.
Yes, well-done, you.
Forgive me, but I have no wish to compete in this event.
Yeah, I don't have much desire to be competing either, but somehow I just keep getting sucked in....
Hey, when you're good at something, you're good. You just can't hide talent like this.
Uh, thanks?
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