Comments on: On Top of the Car

By: jennifer

jennifer — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:33:46 +0000

KLove, I love your story even though it causes me some mental anguish. You were the recording photographer upon whom everyone was relying! And all the best laid plans went up in smoke, or in car exhaust. Horrors! But at least you had a snappy comeback. Truly, it is better to laugh than cry.

As for that Miami story, oh, the pain. Oh, the money. Oh, the Miami Vice.

By: KLove

KLove — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:33:20 +0000

I so identify with this crisis. One particular incident comes foremost to mind. This is pre-digital photography. Imagine this: your spouses’ family is in town for a first time visit West of the Rockies. You try and do your best to make the trip worth the 3 flights it took for them to get there. Lots of activities are planned. Everything goes great. They all enjoy themselves immensely. You have taken wonderful family photos as you are the designated recorder of good times. Everyone leaves to journey home making you promise to send copies. But of course you will and you arrive at Costco only to discover the film and camera you KNOW you placed in your purse is mysteriously missing! Not in the parking lot, in the car, under the seat, in the grocery cart or at the lost-and-found counter. You have lost your mind. As you arrive home your husband is waiting for you in the garage holding something. You pull in wondering what’s up now with the film/camera incident weighing heavily on your mind. He approaches asking if you recognize the flattened objects. They are unrecognizable and then your mind flashes! Dolt!! It’s the pathetic remainder of your trusty Olympus camera and film cannisters!! The horror and embarassment. You suddenly remember placing them on top of the car while you let out the dog, brought the garbage cans to the side of the house, watered plants, etc., and dutifully made your way to the processing center at Costco. Your husband finds your camera, film and yes, (even more shocking!) your bills set for mailing flying up and down the street as he arrives home from work. You shudder in embarassment and are heard to exclaim: “well, some of the letters were airmail!”

By: tommyboy

tommyboy — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:21:14 +0000

Since I’m related to the wallet full of cash for the week story (I think), let me say that a certain someone left the ATM and turned onto US 1 in Miami. Six lanes of fun when she noticed her wallet bouncing once, twice, three times and then an explosion of cash. Cars skidded, doors opened, and in seconds all the cash was gone. Oh Miami.

By: jennifer

jennifer — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:32:05 +0000

Excellent bouncing oranges imagery.

Ed, that Plaid Stamp story – what misery! What cool stuff you COULD have redeemed them for, if only the hands of fate had been kinder. Or your memory had been better.
Someone else just commented on FB – “what about a wallet full of cash for the week?” OUCH

By: 12ontheinside

12ontheinside — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:19:01 +0000

I remember my dad buying a big box of oranges. They looked funny, all orange and bouncing down the road all around the car.

By: Ed

Ed — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:45:52 +0000

There are TWO comments here:

The first one: for a very good, normally very witty and normally great-cartoon-filled (though, of course, I get it for the articles)magazine, the New Yorker almost invariably picks the WORST, most predictable, most unfunny captions for that dumb contest. Forget “almost,” in fact. I forget what they picked for the illustrated one, but Chris’ line no doubt was better. Don’t give up, Chris. I won’t.

But I WAY digress.

Second comment: for us (and here possibly I am dating myself)the top-of-the-car disaster was booklets of Plaid Stamps. Meticulously-saved-up-over-what-what seemed-like-fifty-years Plaid Stamps. Enough Plaid Stamps to go to the Plaid Stamp Store and pick out some GOOD stuff, not your basic beach towel or frying pan, if you know what I mean. Enough Plaid Stamps to amount to two maybe-foot-high piles right there on the roof of the Mustang as we were (probably) loading the kid or kids in for our trip to the Plaid Stamp Store to pick out our reward. Enough Plaid Stamps to catch the wind as we drove off on our trip to the Store. Enough Plaid Stamps to show up nicely on the roadside and in the little woods by our Bryn Mawr, PA garden apartment after they flew off the roof(gracefully in their little plaid way, I’m sure) just feet — feet! — from where we embarked. But not enough Plaid Stamps, apparently,for us to remember until maybe five minutes later. At which time we rushed back, only to be told by our neighbor who happened to be looking out in time to see a pickup truck screech to a halt in front of our garden apartment and pick up “all these colorful pieces of paper” (guess she wasn’t Scottish)and drive off. To the Plaid Stamp Store. For some good stuff. Because THEY knew to carry the dumb booklets inside the cab of the truck.

Lesson learned. OK, except for my Starbucks soy latte maybe 30 years later. A guy’s allowed to forget stuff after 30 years.

But don’t forget about the New Yorker.

By: jennifer

jennifer — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:44:51 +0000

Great but awful tales of what rode on top of the car! I am comforted to know we are not alone.
Crushed eyeglasses and ruined food are awful enough – a baby in a carseat is a terrifying image.
And that Samsonite story! Did they pay the extortionist motorist, the Bad Samaritan? I would guess so.
Having reflected on this topic all day, I think the syndrome of “I’ll just put this on top of the car for a second” explains all those random shoes one always see along the highways and byways of America. Don’t you think?

By: Walking In My Sleep

Walking In My Sleep — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:20:25 +0000

Can’t even think about what’s gone bouncing off my car rooftop. It’s all dust in the wind by the time I remember.

By: Nikki Benner

Nikki Benner — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:37:09 +0000

When I was younger, my dad and I went to Burger King to pick up dinner for the family. On the way home, a police officer pulled us over. My dad was nervous because I was in the car, and he thought the cop was going to give him a ticket. Turns out we had just left dinner on the car roof. Interestingly enough, it was intact! Ice cold, but intact…

By: MelanieO

MelanieO — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:55:31 +0000

A friend once drove from suburban CT to lower Manhattan with 3 kids in the car, picked up her husband at his office, then headed onto the NJ Turnpike, only to see/hear their huge Samsonite suitcase, which she had left on the roof prior to their departure from Greenwich, land in the center lane. As they tried to maneuver a rescue, another driver scooped it up and drove away. They followed the guy to the next rest stop, where he demanded a $100 reward for the safe return of the miraculously intact suitcase!