The Kindness Of Strangers

So I think I officially had one of the most embarrassing nights of my adult life. A lady that I used to work with invited me to her husband's retirement party. Well she actually invited all of us, but I didn't think Brian really wanted to go and I kind of just wanted to go myself and catch up with some of the ladies I used to work with without the hassle of chasing my children around.

So I get there and I catch up with some old friends (it was really great to see you Cheri!) and I had a good time. I figured I wouldn't stay long, but wanted to go and make an appearance. I'm getting ready to leave and I'm saying my good-bye's . . . I pat my coat pocket where I always keep my keys. Hmmm . . . they are not there. Ok - so maybe I put them in my purse . . . but you see the thing is I didn't remember putting them in my purse . . . or my coat pocket for that matter. As I frantically start checking all the places my keys could possibly be . . . I come to the conclusion that my keys are locked inside my truck.

No big deal right . . . just have Brian come and get me . . . oh yeah - we don't live in Iola anymore and my husband and any chance of getting home are 35 minutes away! Oh . . . and for some completely stupid reason . . . this is the ONLY set of keys we have for the truck. I'm figuring out pretty quick that this situation is less than stellar . . . here I am in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by people I don't really know all that well and I am at their mercy to help me somehow get my keys from inside my truck.

I really hate to admit this, but tonight really proved to me how completely helpless I am. I had no clue what to do . . . I am one of those women . . . you know the ones who can't change a tire, or fix a leaky faucet . . . I am completely and totally 100% dependant on my husband and it kills me to say that! So of course I pick up my cell phone and called Brian . . .

Brian: Hello?

Me: Ummm . . . you're not going to believe this but I locked the keys in the truck.

Brian: What??? How did you do that?

Me: Well I was getting David's retirement card together and I must have set them on the seat. I got out of the truck and locked the doors by hand and left . . . I didn't even realize I didn't have my keys.

Brian: grumble, grumble . . . who locks their doors by hand??? That's what you have the keys for!! Those are our only set!

Me: I realize that! What should I do?

Brian: silence . . . . I'm not sure - I'll have to think for a minute and call you back.

So in the meantime I go back inside and find my friend and tell her what happened. She gets her son to go outside armed with a coat hanger to try and unlock my truck. Keep in mind it is FREEZING outside and here is this poor man trying his hardest to unlock my doors. Some time passes and we are still sitting in the dark, in the freezing cold however the one man trying to free my locked keys turns into three slightly intoxicated burly young men trying to free my locked keys.

AND as if this isn't embarrassing enough for me . . . we head back inside the bar to "take a piss" as the one man so eloquently put it and as I follow my three rescuers back inside the bar . . . I completely miss this small step up to get in the door and absolutely positively fall completely on - oh no not my ass - my FACE. Yup . . . totally wipe it right there in the doorway as patrons look at me like I must be the drunkest person they've seen all night.

OMG!!!!! How does that even happen???? Thank the lord my purse was closed otherwise all my belongings would have been strewn across the snow covered entrance and all I could think of was me on my hands and knees picking up my emergency pad and tampon off the ground . . .

So - several more failed attempts later and my burly young men were successful and my keys were placed in my slightly frozen little hand. Oh - and did I mention that my piece of junk cell phone battery died during this ordeal as well??

But seriously - how cool is it that three people who really didn't have a clue who in the heck I was would freeze their butts off just to help a damsel in distress . . . and it wasn't like they just quickly went outside and then came back in . . . we were probably out there a good hour before we were able to successfully break in the truck.

Dan, Dean and mystery guy that I don't know your name - THANK YOU! Thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart . . . your help tonight means more to me than you will ever know.

It's good to be home . . . and tomorrow I'm going to Walmart to make a spare key!