The Crazy Things We Do

Did you ever do something so ridiculous, you just had to laugh at yourself?

I seem to have a knack for that sort of thing. For instance, we have a red Subaru, so in my mind every red Subaru, actually, every red car is ours.

I jumped in a red car with a church family one Sunday morning. They laughed and said, sure, I could go home with them. I am constantly peering into red cars as I hit the unlock button before I realize it is not our red car.

But the worst was the day my husband dropped me off for a doctor’s appointment in Altoona then went to park. A short time later, I came out and jumped into the first red car I saw. The unknown lady behind the wheel was startled but shakily managed a, “Who are you?” Luckily, she laughed when I explained my fetish for red cars. Meanwhile my husband, three cars away wondered what in the world I was doing.

Another Car Incident

There was the time we were going to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. Prior to our airline departure I checked for a rental car and found the airport prices were extremely high. Doing some investigating, I discovered a good rate at “Rent A Wreck”. They said I was to call upon our arrival and they would come to us.

It was a beautiful day as we waited outside watching for our transportation. Finally, a somewhat dilapidated vehicle pulled up and the gentleman at the wheel appeared to be looking for someone. “That must be our car” I told my husband.

“Oh, I don’t think so” he answered. But, determined I walked up to the window and asked the man if he was from “Rent A Wreck”. Luckily, he had a sense of humor. “No” he answered, “But my wife has been telling me I need a new car.”

A few minutes later, a very nice vehicle arrived from the actual company, and we all had a good laugh.

Then There Are Cellphones

Prior to cell phones everyone had mix-ups about meeting places. While one wanted to meet a friend at said restaurant, there would be a miscommunication about the exact spot. Without cell phones there was no way for instant messaging.

We had a rather serious and scary happening one of the summers our daughter was working at the shore. She was driving back to the University of Maryland for the fall semester, and we were to meet her halfway with a load of belongings. Our meeting spot was the Holiday Inn at a specified exit. What neither of us realized was there was a Holiday Inn North and a Holiday Inn South. You guessed it, both of us sat there for hours awaiting each other. Without cell phones we had no way of knowing what the other was doing. In desperation, I went into the hotel to call the police to see if there had been an accident on the road coming from the eastern shore. The manager overheard me and pointed us in the right direction. We literally wasted half a day.

In the early days of cell phones, we still had problems with those who just didn’t use them very well. My brother and sister-in-law from North Carolina went to a reunion in West Virginia and asked if would meet them at the Apple Butter Festival in Berkley Springs. There was a huge crowd, equal to Bedford’s Fall Foliage, or worse. I had given my brother my cell phone number which he promptly lost but was not concerned because he had given me his cell phone number. He knew we wouldn’t lose it. Only problem, he gave us the wrong number. It was a very hot fall day, and we wandered around in the crowd for about four hours before giving up and going home. Meanwhile, my brother was doing the same thing. We never did meet up at that festival.

Those of us who wear glasses will have to acknowledge that there are times we can’t find them, and we have them on our head. The same goes for cell phones, we wonder where they are, and we are holding them.

On a bus trip, we stopped at a restaurant and as we were departing, there was a long line for the restroom. I was the last one to use it and as I was leaving my son called. I got on the bus chatting away on my cell phone. As we were going down the road, I suddenly panicked. Oh, Ed, I said, “I think I left my phone at that restaurant.”

“No, you didn’t mom,” he said. “You are talking to me on it.”

Life does get a little crazy sometimes and we just have to take a deep breath and laugh!