Locked in the Car....

Well, I've heard the story told all my life. I was, I was I was an infant. It was cold, the car was dicey and was reputed to NOT be reliable.

My mother left me sitting in the car and went inside. I was a good kid but she could have realized that I paid attention to things. I engaged pattern recognition.

I don't think there were seat belts then. I can picture a million times in my life where my mother threw her arm across my belly as she had to slam on the brakes. She had quick reactions. In the birth of the sixties she had some of the skills that allows one's offspring to survive. She can only hope that I'm a mutant that has some knowledge of the environment. One who can transfer information to one's offspring.

I left my child in the car so that I could go pop a letter in the mail and then realized that the keys were in the ignition. I was fortunate that a LOT of people stopped off to help and a tragedy was averted.

It was SO hot and it was actually freaking amusing on about a million levels.

I have this gut reaction. I can see the face of my girl in her car seat. I know it's hot, it's freaking August. I'm mailing a birthday card for her grandmother. I see her behind the glass.

I'm in Mesquite, Texas at the main post office. Any number of people gather around. They are all sympathetic. I've gone in to post something and was just so unfortunate enough to lock the keys in the car with the baby.

To this day, I'm grateful to all the people who tried to help. I had an old chevy so someone tried their chevy key. There was one fellow. Kind of an old farmer gentleman. He had a plan. He didn't say a word.

I can see it. I can see this man in my mind's eye. I can see him moving about and not saying a word.

My mother parked the car. She had to post something. She didn't turn the car off because there were issues about it starting up again.

She came out and there was no car. It was gone. She noticed the police chief and others running by. She ran down the hill where the notorious car had plunged into a brand new car on a brand new car lot.

I was apparently discovered at the bottom of the hill in the floorboard with the hat pulled down over my face.

I was a cheery infant that learned that pulling off the parking break of the auto is not always a good thing.

I think I am astonished when I think of what I got to do when I was handed off to the other grandparents.

I'm so lucky to have ancestors that celebrate life.

I don't think I was a bad child. I was curious. My big people were responsible for setting limits for me.