Not my proudest moments. When I left the house to head off to the DMV for my scheduled appointment, I locked the door behind me. Only when I got to the car did I realize the keys weren’t in my pocket. Crap. I was so worried about having all my paperwork in hand that I forgot to grab them off the hook by the door. Not a big deal, I have a Hide-A-Key outside just for such an event. I retrieved the key and slid it into the lock; it would not turn. Huh? I must have put the wrong key in my Hide-A-Key thing. It could have been the old Klamath Falls key, or a relative’s house key, or, hell, maybe even an old key from Aiken days.
Being a belt and suspenders kind of guy, my neighbor across the street has a copy as a contingency plan. I texted her, “Are you home?” No reply. Now, I’m starting to think I’m going to miss my appointment. Thirty seconds later I hear a beep and watch her car go by; she was on her way home from the store. I walk over and get her backup key. I open my door, grab the keys for Bucky, lock up, and return the backup key to her. I still had plenty of time to make it to the DMV on time.
After doing all the paperwork to get Bucky street legal, I drove the short distance to PDX Wraps to drop him off for the side stripe and dark windshield banner. After we ironed out the size and placement details, it was time to order up an Uber for the ride home. As I left the shop to go outside and wait for my ride, I realized I still had the car keys in my pocket, so I went back in and said, “Oh, you might need these.”
The 45-minute Uber ride was going to end up taking about an hour and 45 minutes because of some sort of traffic snafu. In the 2 years I’ve lived here and in all the times I’ve dealt with I-5 and I-84, it has never been that backed up. About halfway home creeping along, I realized that those car keys also held the house key. DOH!
So, I texted my neighbor again, admitting that I’m brain-dead and I’ll be needing that key again. This time the no response was a lot longer; I didn’t hear from her even after I was dropped off in front of my locked house. I walked over, and her car was there, but she didn’t answer the knock. Okay, now what? I called a locksmith. He said, “I’m finishing up a job, and then I’m 45 minutes away. Hang tight.”
About 20 minutes later I got a text; my neighbor was back, so I went over and got my spare key again. After unlocking the house door, I returned them across the street again because obviously I’m going to need her to keep them. I called the locksmith back, hoping he wasn’t already on the way because then I’d be out a couple hundred bucks. At last something went my way; he hadn’t finished up that job yet, so I dodged a monetary bullet.
I got in the other Miata and headed to Lowe’s to get the correct key to stash in my Hide-A-Key. Belt and suspenders.