IceCapades

Tuesday night, I decided to trek to the library to check on grad school stuff (I know, amazing, right?! I had a sudden burst of inspiration). It was about 8:30pm and I go out to start my car. I get in, start it, and then see that I need to scrape my windshield. I turn on the dome light to find my scraper and get out of the car. Growing up in the city, it is still deeply ingrained in me that everytime you get out or into the car, you lock the door. So I did and then I thought, "that's silly, I'll lock myself out!" Ha ha ha! Ha ha...click. Yes, my door has swung shut (the joys of parking on a hill). And as if it was taunting me, it was not all the way shut, just that annoying half-way shut, where you have to kick it to close. My house key AND phone are both now locked in the car. I try everything possible to get my door open, even trying to pick my lock. There was a bit of kicking involved too, although I never expected that to open the door. Great. Now what? I decide to suck it up and walk to Casey's. It's icy and surprisingly, I never fell. We had a few close calls, but never a solid full body connection to the ice. So if you happened to be driving down Main, you would've seen me trudging through the field to Casey's. I get there and use the phone to call Amoco since they take AAA, so at least it'll be free. I call and the lady tells me her husband just left for a towing...in Pumpkin Center (shout-out to you, my peace-lovin'-coffee-crazed buddy!). I told her that my car was running, with the dome light on, and my house keys, everything was in there so I really couldn't wait. She tells me to call Boyles. I call him and he says he'll come open it. Saved! I then begin the long trek back, parting with the words "stay warm!" from the gas station person. Ha ha. I walk back and sit on my porch, like a yutz, in the freezing cold, thinking about how warm the inside of my car must be. The guy gets there about 10 minutes later and I'm praying that he'll at least have trouble opening it so it'll be somewhat worth my $25.00. And he does! He has to consult a book and tries several times to open it while I stand nearby, eyeing my car. He gets it open, is paid, and I, think ruefully, at least I don't have to scrape my windows!