A Little Help From My Friends

The story I'm about to tell you is not one of my own, but that of a dear friend of mine.  Yes, I have them...dear friends...are you shocked?  She told me this story and I was nearly crying, from laughing so hard.  I told her that the only sad thing about this story was that it wasn't mine and therefore, couldn't be classified as blog fodder.  "Why not?" she asked.  "It's a great story and I think you'd probably do a very good job retelling it!"  So, to my dear friend....thank you SO much for this wonderful tale.  I hope I do it justice.

For the sake of clarity, we'll call my friend Rose and her husband, we'll call George.  Rose, George and their two little boys went out of town last weekend.  They headed down to the Gulf, to meet up with George's parents and have a short holiday.  Friday morning, Rose woke up with a migraine.  She took her medicine, got everyone loaded into their van and let George take the wheel so she could sleep.  She slept for a few hours and when she woke, she was rather dismayed to find that George had navigated them down a two-lane state highway that is basically the tour route of every podunk town between Bamaham and the sandy shore of the Gulf.  George decided it was time for a pit stop...Nature was calling and could no longer be ignored.  They stopped at a gas station and everyone piled out.  She wasn't taking her purse into the store, so Rose locked the van doors and off they went.  Everyone took care of their business...time to get back on the road.  With snacks and drinks in hand, they all headed for the van.  George tried to open the door and found it locked.

"Rose, do you have your keys?"
"Yes, but they are in my purse, which is in the floorboard.  Why?  Where are your keys?"
"Hanging in the ignition?
"George, why are your keys hanging in the ignition?"
"I told you, Rose!  I REALLY had to go!"
"Well, it must have been pretty awful if you couldn't take two seconds to grab the keys!"

With that, Rose went back into the store to speak with the cashier.  Rose explained the situation and the cashier said she would call the local police to see if they could help.  Rose, George and the boys sat down on the sidewalk to wait.  After awhile, Rose went back inside to check with the cashier.  She wasn't inside very long before returning to George and the boys.

"So, what did she say?  Had she forgotten to call?" asked George.
"No, she called but it might take awhile."
"Why's that?"
"Well, as it turns out, they only have one police officer...two gas stations, but only one cop," Rose informed him, slightly amused.

Another bit of time passed and the cashier came outside to update them on the situation. 

"It might be a little longer.  Our deputy...did I tell you we only have one...is down at the other gas station trying to help someone else who is locked out.  We've got two gas stations, but only one deputy.  I called the school, to see if their security guard could come, but he can't leave campus.  Look's like you'll have to wait."

Wait they did and presently, one of the town locals pulled in.  Older fellow, in his overalls, and he took notice of Rose, George and the boys.

"Y'all locked out?"
"Yes, sir. We are."
"Y'all call the po-lice?"
"Yes, sir.  We did."
"You know, we only have one deputy around here."
"Yes, sir.  We've heard."
"Yep, one deputy, but two gas stations.  He's down at the other station working to get another car unlocked."
"Yes, sir."
"After I get my coffee, I'll stop by the used car lot and see if maybe they can help."

As he promised, he sent help from the car lot.  One of the salesmen arrived with a kit in hand.  Rose said he had this thing that looked like a blood pressure cuff and it inflated, which made it possible to pop the lock.  I am all too familiar with said device.  When we were on the youth mission trip in 2010, I locked the keys in Mr. Snark's truck...at the TA truck stop in Slidell, LA.  Handy, handy tool to have lying around, that's for sure!  The salesman was very kind and glad to help.

"Sorry y'all had to wait so long.  We only have one deputy and he's down at the other gas station."
"Yes, sir.  We've heard."

Rose and George made the boys promise not to say anything about the keys to Mimi and Granddaddy.  Funny, even when we get grown, we don't like our parents to know that we still make mistakes like this.  As they drove out of town, they had to pass the other gas station and sure enough, there was Officer One and Only, huffing and puffing...struggling with a "Jimmy bar", trying to help the other lock out.  All in all, the delay wasn't more than an hour. 

Rose, George and the boys enjoyed their time away and had a great time with George's parents.  Monday morning, before heading their separate ways, they had breakfast together.  Rose promised the boys that if they were well behaved and ate all of their breakfast, they could walk across the little foot bridge to visit the playground.  As they were walking over the bridge, they came to a fish food machine.  Rose got out her wallet and dug out the change to buy a handful of fish food, so the boys could feed the fish.  They walked almost to the end of the bridge, nearer to playground.  The boys made fast work of emptying their mother's hand of the food, then high-tailed it to the playground.  There were still crumbs in her hand, so Rose flicked her hand over the water and about the time she realized what she had done, she saw her wallet fly out of her hand and land in the water!

Being the good husband that he is, George quickly made his way down the bank and waded into the bay to get Rose's wallet and not a moment too soon, as it began to sink.  Luckily, George was able to save it from Davey Jones' locker. 

"Rose, what in the world were you thinking?  Did you not see your wallet in your hand?"
"You just hush your mouth, Mr. I Have To Go To The Bathroom So Bad I Left The Keys In The Ignition and Got Us Locked Out Of The Car In A Town With Two Gas Stations But Only One Deputy!"

Mimi and Granddaddy were appropriately surprised at what Rose had said, because this was the first they'd heard of it. 

"Uh, Mama," interjected Rose's oldest son, "You weren't supposed to tell Mimi and Granddaddy!"

Out of the mouths of babes!!!

(Thanks, Rose!  This was a great story!)

Comments

  1. I'm laughing...only because it wasn't me this time! :)

    ReplyDelete

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