Jesse woke me at 6:30 this morning to tell me that he had locked his keys in his truck. He doesn't have a spare because he lost it long ago and never got another one made in spite of all my nagging at him to do so.
Why is it that when disaster strikes, I'm the one who is supposed to fix it? What if I had not been here? What would Jesse have done?
Well, I was here, so I called the police station. The dispatcher lady told me that they weren't allowed to open locked cars anymore because the city council won't let them. I didn't know that the city council gets to tell the police what to do. So that was news to me. I asked the lady if she had any suggestions. She told me to call Ryans Automotive, which I did.
A very nice man from Ryan's came and quickly unlocked Jesse's truck, for which he charged us a mere $50. Fifty dollars to drive five miles and poke a stick down beside the truck window and open it! Oh yeah, and write a receipt for $50.
Jesse's main complaint was that now he didn't have time to go by McDonald's and get a biscuit.
I know I was stupid when I was young too. And I do have compassion now for those adults who had to deal with me when I was young and stupid. But I thought I had done enough paying back after having gone through my own children's young and stupid periods. Guess not.
And don't tell Jesse, but I once locked my keys in my car at the dry cleaners with the motor running. Fortunately, that was back in the day when you could get a cop to help you break into your own car.
One disaster fixed; on to the next one.
Jesse told me that the upstairs vacuum was broken; it wouldn't suck and the brush wouldn't turn. I asked him if he checked to see if the belt was broken. "Huh?" he answered.
So after the truck was unlocked; dogs were let out and let in and let out and let in; coffee was consumed; and pills were swallowed, I came upstairs to check the vacuum. No broken belt. No broken nothing. It was just packed so full of dust, dirt, animal hair, fabric giblets, and who knows whatall, that the automatic cutoff had kicked in. With all the dirt and trash cleaned out, it works like a charm.
That's all the crises I plan to attend to today. So if anything else needs attention, best call 911. SuSu is closed for the day.
Before I go, below are a few more photos of springtime around the Yellow House.
The azaleas are in full bloom.
The pale pink ones have been here ever since the house was built in 1995.
Weeding, cleaning, and mulching needed under the bird feeder.
The greenery is perking up.
Hostas are awake and growing.
This one came awake much paler than last year. Maybe it needs some fertilizer.
Our wooded area is putting on a show with phlox, grapevine, and poison oak.
Hydrangeas are getting ready to bloom.
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On 04/23/2013, Barbara Anne said ...
Oh, thanks for the good chuckles!!
I have to say it's been only a few years since DH was locked out of his car while it was running in our driveway - and we had to call for someone to come unlock the car. I had reminded him to get an extra key made to the point of being called a nag before this happened and it was difficult not to smile in vindication when that happened!
Isn't it a little guilty pleasure to be able to fix something a whiz kid has no clue about?! Our sons are able to do nearly everything but a vacuum cleaner seems beyond them. Tee hee!!!
Love the glorious flowers that adorn the Yellow House during the springtime!
Enjoy having your feet up, sipping tea, and forwarding all distress calls to 911!
Hugs!
On 04/23/2013, Sandy said ...
What a way to start the day!! One way to look at it is that things have to get better for the rest of the day. Enjoy the rest of your "crisis free" day. Your azaleas are beautiful. So full and fluffy. We've been invaded by canker worms and everything that should have leaves have none. YUK. They are nasty. You need an umbrella just to walk around the yard. They fall from the trees and get all over you. I HATE worms!!
On 04/23/2013, ramey2001@aol.com said ...
My ex-husband, who will remain nameless, used to lock his keys in his car frequently. The most exasperating was when he went to play golf in Pell City, called me at home in Leeds and got me to drive to Pell City with the spare key, unlock his car and turn off the engine! He didn't have time to get someone there to help him get into the car because he didn't want to be late for tee off.
On 04/23/2013, Beverly said ...
Oh goodness, Susan. You made me laugh aloud. I promise not to even think about calling you with an emergency.
Your azalea blooms are gorgeous. We are enjoying ours, too.
On 04/23/2013, Linda said ...
OK, Sue - I am going to tell you this as I tell it to myself. The young adults these days are helpless because we let them be. There was no reason in the world for you to be involved with his key situation. He is a grown man. You are incredibly generous to let him live with you (and I know you enjoy having him around), but he needs to understand that this is YOUR house and he can't make decisions about things like kittens without discussing it with you. When he encounters problems, he needs to handle those problems as if he were living alone. We cannot continue to baby these adult children/grandchildren. We are not doing them any favor.
On 04/23/2013, Helen in Switzerland said ...
Oh you did make me laugh today Susan..what a wonderful post!!! Your flowers are fabulous....you are months ahead of us, months....!
On 04/23/2013, Karen in Michigan said ...
I have to tell you, I take special pride in knowing how to handle these things by myself. Being single and "of a certain age" I don't have someone else to rely on. (The cats are no help whatsoever.) But I do know who to call if the issue is bigger than I can handle. And even though some days I don't feel like finding my big girl panties and taking care of it all, I know I'll feel better once everything is fixed. And then when the car is running properly and the furnace is working and the vacuum is doing its thing, I think my big girl panties aren't so bad after all.
On 04/23/2013, jklarsen56@gmail.com said ...
What a joy it must be to look outside and see flowers in bloom and have color! In Wisconsin, we had snow flurries yesterday and temps about 40 degrees. Will we ever see warm temperatures, sun and flowers in bloom!
On 04/23/2013, Jane said ...
Linda, I agree with everything you said. My daughter lost both sets of keys to her car while in high school, despite warnings from us to see about getting new keys. It cost quite a bit to have copies made and we made her pay out of her allowance, a sum each month, till all was paid for. She's very careful of her keys now. Tough love pays off in the end.
On 04/23/2013, Deb said ...
Hi Susan! What an adventuresome morning you had! It sounds like this quote that I just received this week in a friend's newsletter: "I try to take one day at a time but sometimes several days attack me at once." LOL!
I have three young adults still living at home with us: 29, 27, and 26....there's no way I wouldn't help any of them if their keys were locked in the car. I've taken my son his lunch at work many times when he's forgotten it. I'm a mom and that's what moms do...help their family...no matter the age. Jesse is indeed blessed to have you!
Your flowers are just lovely...we're not that far along but I can tell it won't be long now!
On 04/24/2013, Kai said ...
My Kaku (Comanche grandmother) would have said, "I b'lieve that boy needs a good butt stompin'." No, it's not very eloquent, but she said what she meant and she meant what she said! HAHAHA! KEEP that SUSU'S SERVICES sign turned to the CLOSED side, and go enjoy those gorgeous flowers! LOVE YOU!
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