As it turns out, I’m pretty awful at misplacing car keys. As a matter of fact, I lost one of my KIA SUV keys a while back, leaving me with just one precious key. The thing is, I know that lost key is somewhere in my house because I drove home the day I lost it. No doubt I’ll find it months from now when looking for a platter. And there it will be, resting on a shelf right in plain sight.

So anyway, I should tell you my SUV has a habit of locking when the doors close. Now don’t get me wrong; I’ve tried programming it not to do that but I’m technologically challenged and too lazy to actually read the manual. This is not good since my personal habit is to leave my keys in the car and close the door. Hence, I always use my 3 free roadside service visits from AAA.

So guess what happened recently while I filled my SUV at Marin Humane with items for re-homing 2 feral cats? You guessed it. I closed the door with the cats inside. HOLY CRAP! Peering through the back window, I saw those damn keys lying right next to the litter box, almost mocking me.

Adding insult to injury, my purse and phone were locked inside too. So the search was on to borrow a phone to call AAA. Ironically, two of my car batteries died in January on different days (naturally) so this was my last freebie for the year and it’s only February. But when AAA said it would be an hour and 15 minute wait, I knew it would feel like hours.

Since humane officers have the tools to rescue animals that nincompoops like me lock in their car on a warm day, I went in search of one. Of course, none were around and when one finally arrived, naturally his vehicle didn’t have the tool. To quote John McEnroe, my immediate thought was, “You cannot be serious!”

So Dave, the maintenance man, decided to give it a try while I paced back and forth like a caged zoo animal. Apparently not someone used to breaking into cars, Dave had no luck with mine and finally gave up. At this point I was ready to break the window but instead placed sheets over them to keep the sun from baking the cats.

That’s when Dave asked me if I had an extra key and if so, offered to drive me home to get it. I happily accepted, forgetting in my panic that I’d misplaced the key many months before. What an idiot. But this fact didn’t dawn on me until Dave pulled up to my house and I ran around back to get inside. What was I thinking? Apparently I wasn’t. I reiterate:

Coincidentally, the fellow who showed up from AAA to rescue me was the same one who previously charged my 2 batteries. I half expected him to roll his eyes upon seeing me again but to his credit he didn’t. And barely a minute later, I drove off with 2 sleeping cats completely oblivious to what just transpired. I promised then and there I’d learn how to program the door locks.

But as it turned out, I never did keep that promise. Just days later, my SUV blew a head gasket, burning up the engine while 20 miles from home with 5 cats inside on our way to the vet. Holy moly. My 4th AAA encounter in less than 2 months. And the thing is, now that the KIA is irreparable, what do you bet I find that extra key tomorrow?