There is at least one person who is not going to be amused by this post, and he is known as my husband.
Yesterday, I stopped by the Board of Ed to pick up the 200,000 forms necessary to register Sabrina for kindergarten next year. I parked next to a fire hydrant, ran in and out of the building, then went to do a k-turn to get home. There was a leeetle ice patch. I skidded into the fire hydrant and some protruding pipe.
That "crunch" sound your car makes when it hits something is one of the worst sounds in the world. Also not so great: When you notice a bunch of nearby high school kids gaping at your car and snickering.
I managed to dent the right back door of the minivan. And the whole thing needs to be replaced, of course, because whenever you damage any little part of a car the largest part possible needs to be repaired or replaced.
Friends of mine reading this are probably cracking up right about now; my driving record is somewhat dubious. Over the years I have....
• Left the car running with the keys inside (three times).
• Backed into a brick wall.
• Rear-ended a car (but not THAT hard) at the mouth of New York City's Lincoln Tunnel (then briefly dated the guy I hit and you bet I did not pay for the new bumper).
• Left the gas cap on the trunk of my car and driven away from the gas station.
• Left my purse on the top of my car and driven away from the gas station.
• NEVER left my kids on top of the car and drove away from the gas station, for the record.
• Started driving with a back door completely open during college and when a guy I knew saw this and wildly waved his arms to alert me, I smiled, waved back and kept going till I realized there was a major breeze coming from back there.
I do not even want to think about how much money I have handed over to the auto body shop industry.
Dave does most of the driving when we're with the kids (I can hear you all breathing a collective sigh of relief). I think he drives too cautiously, which to me is just as unsafe as driving too fast. He thinks I should stop being a backseat driver and he is probably right.
What kind of mishaps have you guys had with cars?
Photo by seeyaonda.flipside
