I was running errands yesterday and popped over to the car wash to use their vacuum–four quarters for five minutes seems a small price to pay when compared to the nightmare that is pulling out my shop vac, hunting around for an orange cord, making sure the thing is set on ‘dry’, finding a filter, etc. Or so I thought…
And so, where was I? Ah, yessss, vacuuming the road trip detritus from the trusty Honda Fit. I pulled in, tossed my keys in my purse, and hopped out. I opened all the doors and hatch and began vacuuming.
(La, la, la, insert vacuuming noise here.)
When I finished each area, I closed the door until only the driver’s side door and hatch were open. In typical CWG fashion, I didn’t pull up close enough to the vacuum and was trying to streeeeeetch the hose to reach the trunk/hatch.
While pulling on the hose, it bumped the driver’s door closed, but not shut. I finished with the trunk and slammed it shut, hung up the hose, and grabbed the door handle. Yep. You know where I’m headed here.
The door was closed just enough so that it latched–and it was LOCKED. I pressed my face forlornly against the window, staring at my purse, cell phone, and car keys–inside of the locked car.
It was about 2pm and Ant wasn’t due to leave work until 3:15–and he works 45 minutes away. I called him anyway. The phone call went badly. I had to grovel at the florist next door to use their phone, and our phone conversation went approximately like this:
- CWG: It’s me. I locked myself out of the car at the car wash. Can you come get me?
- ANT: Umm, no. I’m working.
- CWG: (edge of desperation in her voice, maybe a tear or two) Please? The florist people are being mean and the car wash guy said he didn’t have a phone. (He was LYING!)
- ANT: Nat, I cannot leave work to help you. Call the police.
- CWG: FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and then I hung up on his face).
I returned to the car wash and asked the worker to please call the non-emergency line for the police to see if they could come help me. Twenty minutes later, a friendly policewoman arrived with all kinds of fun car-stealing tools and had the door open in about a nano-second. I thanked her profusely and drove home. The moral of the story is to save myself the four quarters and use my shop vac!
Am I the only person who does this kind of stuff? Surely others have locked their keys in their cars, right? Tell me your tale of woe so I can feel better.
After never locking my keys in a vehicle, I have did it twice in the past three months. For me it is the “automatic” locking mechanisms. If I open the hatch and close it, all the door automatically lock…without me hitting a button…it is hard to get used to. It means you can never set the keys down…only put them in your pocket.
The worst place this happened was just before I was going to to a comedy set a couple of weeks ago…in the parking lot of the club. It actually worked out to be good material for the set though.
I go for more of the car-injury-route.
I highly recommend the idiot proof version of cars!
my granny car has a number pad and a trunk release inside. my other car won’t lock without the key in your hand. Do you have one of those auto locking doors?
I have locked keys in the trunk after loading full of groceries…
i’m NOTORIOUS for locking myself out of the car. once i was at the car wash also about to wash my car in one of the do it yourself stalls and i closed the door and the door was locked and the radio was on. (i was in hs so i guess they didn’t have the anti door lock when the key is in the ignition.) i had to walk to the grocery store to call my mom collect.
i locked my son in the car when i set the keys on the dash board and locked him into the car seat. locked the door and shut it. had to call the police. police, fire engine, 2 ambulances later they had to break one of the windows. i had AAA. i could have just called them.
i locked my keys in my trunk (the doors were locked). i was putting a whole bunch of helium balloons back there and i set my keys down INSIDE the trunk. maneuvered the balloons in and shut the trunk door!
and that isn’t the only times. i have a whole bunch of boring locked out stories too!
I am NOTORIOUS for losing my keys. I just got to the point where I keep them on me at all times (except when I am sleeping or driving). Now I drive a Saab and you can’t lock the door at all without using the key or remote.
BECAUSE THEY LOVE ME.
I’ve only done it once (knocking on wood). It was winter, during the Super Bowl one year. I had decided to go shopping since our house was testosterone central. I locked them in the car at Kohl’s and called home for someone to bring me a spare set. I was told to call a locksmith because the game was on. However, he did take the time to look up the number for me!
I’ve only locked myself out of my car once (so far), and my mom (who lived 15 minutes away and had a spare set of keys) came and rescued me from (horror or horrors!) the coffeeshop where I’d been getting some reading done.
Once, though, at just before 7AM, I was on my way to work and closed the apartment door behind me, thinking I had my keys in hand, only to realize when I got to the bottom of the stairs that they, indeed, were nowhere on my person. And the apartment locked automatically. Damn. Woke up the downstairs neighbor to call the teacher down the street for a ride to school (20 minutes away) and–what timing!–my mom, who was coming to visit for the weekend (from two hours away), arrived at my place just as my students were leaving, and she had a spare key. The guy downstairs hated me ever afterward, though. (That was okay with me–he wasn’t a nice guy.)
We once took a motorcycle trip to visit hubby’s oldest brother.
Motorcycle broke down while we were there, so we borrowed one of their vehicles to come home.
Once the bike repairs were made, we were to go back and swap vehicles.
While we had their SUV, I decided to detail the inside, as a gesture to say “thanks for letting us borrow it.”
They said the battery was on it’s last leg…so if it was going to sit with doors open, we should keep it running, or we wouldn’t get it started.
While I was cleaning, it was running…the radio was playing. The wind was blowing.
Oh yeah….the wind caught the one open door and shut it.
Apparently I had hit the lock button while cleaning.
So, not only was I locked out…with the nearest spare key 4 hours away….it was also running!!!
Whoops.
Parked on a busy street, I struggled to get all my paperwork together to get a business license and get out during a break in traffic. 35 minutes later, I came out of the building to see a crowd gathered around my car. It was running…with the keys clearly in the ignition. After I wailed my story of woe to my husband, I heard laughter in the background. He was in a meeting and the phone was on speaker. I smiled and shook my head at the stupidity of the driver until Hubby arrived…45 minutes later. Fortunately, I had started the day with a full tank of gas.
DAMN!! Hayden drives a SAAB!
Connie drives a PORSCHE!
Where do I sign up?!!
PS: I know I’ve fallen off the face of the blogosphere – BUT I have not forgotten about your July challenge. Tomorrow right?
I won “Mother-of-the-Year” award after locking my then two week old baby and two year-old daughter in the car. It was 85 degrees outside and luckily my house was still open. I called 911. They told me they don’t deal with keys being locked in cars but then I told them about the baby and they sent someone over. I have never done it since, and hopefully never will again!
And Then I Hung Up on His Face should be the name of my dating memoir.