but it's over now.

Yesterday was my eldest daughter's eighteenth birthday (!), and I had decided to take her to DMV to get her non-driver's ID. And then do our 'lunch with Mom' thing that we do for birthdays.

So, as we are leaving DMV, I get in the van, turn the key, and ...

Nothing.

The engine is silent.

Oh. NO.

Don't panic. It's a relatively (2006) new vehicle, so it's probably something simple. Try again.

Same result.

Nothing. AND I can't get the key out (!!)

Oookay, I think... Call the dealer; he'll know what to do.

After some troubleshooting, it's decided that the van needs to be towed in.

I call AAA, and they'll be out to get us in about an hour (so much for lunch).

So, I sit.

I had put a call in to my neighbor, thinking that perhaps we could get a ride home, instead of riding with the tow truck driver. But he was out of communications range at the time, so I hung up without leaving a message.

About 20 minutes later, he calls me back and asks what's up. I explain the situation, feeling pretty certain that it is under control, as he runs me through the same basic troubleshooting that the dealer did.

Now at this point, I'm sitting in the shotgun seat, with the doors open, talking on the phone.

He asks me, 'Is the van in gear? Because if it is in anything other than Park or Neutral, it won't start.'

Knowing that it was not in gear, I look over at the dash to dutifully double-check, and from where I'm sitting, it looks like it's in REVERSE.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next thing that the poor man hears is me shouting at my daughter to get OUT of that seat!

Bless her heart, she hopped out of the seat, and out of the VAN in less time than it takes to tell about it, thinking that the car was going to catch on fire!

I dash around the van like a madwoman, climb in the driver's seat, and sure enough, it IS in reverse... I put it in park, turn the key in the ignition, and the car started right up, like nothing had ever happened.

I told my neighbor I loved him. Laughing, he said, 'So, I'm the man?'

I replied, 'You're TWO men!!!'

After I got off the phone with him, and cancelled the AAA service call, I left a message for the guy at the dealership to let him know that I wouldn't be coming in, and why (which made the guy taking the message crack up)... I'll have to re-read my auto manual again, eh? ROFLOL!!

So, my eldest and I got to go to lunch after all, and she now has a funny story to tell about a mistake her mother made :sigh: ...

But, I'll admit that I'm pleased as punch that I did NOT need repair work :-)!

So, how was YOUR day?

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http://www.stormpulse.com/