So… Let me tell ya about the time I inadvertently tried to kill my Gal Pal….

I’ve driven a standard shift for 20 yrs… I HATE automatic transmissions; hate, hate, hate, hate, hate them. But, it’s getting harder and harder to find a manual tranny unless you want the disposable, bottom of the line, POS or you have lots of money to spend on a high-end car…

Since my budget is limited, but I wanted something nicer because I travel so much, I opted to buy an…

a u t o m a t i c t r a n s m i s s i o n….

YUCK… It was like committing a sin against nature.

Well, I was excited to get my new car, even if it was one of those… I was picking it up over lunch. I asked my Gal Pal if he wanted to ride along and he did…. Ha Ha Ha… He’ll never make that mistake again!!!

What I neglected to tell my Gal Pal was that when I went to test drive the car, I had to ask the sales guy and I quote:

“So… Silly question, but how do you work an automatic tranny?”

I’m dead serious… I didnt know how to start it because there was a pedal missing… I havent driven one in 20 yrs… I’ve forgot how they work… give me a break… k?

So, my unsuspecting Gal Pal heads to the dealership with me to get my shiny new car with one less pedal… I get my new car and we head back to the office. Before getting to the office, I make a quick stop at the local gas station to get something for lunch. (I live off of gas station food… not really by choice, it’s just so easy, and I always forget to bring something because I have an Etch-a-Sketch for a brain….which is why I’m remember this story now, a year and a half after it happened…) Now, where was I? Oh, right… nearly killing my Gal Pal….

I pulled into a parking spot, leaving the car running, as my Gal Pal opted to stay in the car (ha ha ha, that was a really bad idea)

I get back into the car and I realize

I LEFT the car in DRIVE WHILE it was RUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Gal Pal sat in my running car, never realizing it was in DRIVE.

I muttered something that I cant recall about leaving it in drive… thankful I was anal about using the e-break… OR my Brand New Shiny Car would have Smashed Through the Front of Rutters and with my luck probably would have crushed me as I was standing in the store… I can just imagine the headlines for that story…

Now I could have been crushed by my own car inside the gas station, but my Gal Pal was more concerned with what he perceived as a near death experience… He was in the car surrounded by airbags… Really… just what harm would have come to him, well, ok, other than having to public admit that he knows me, which, well, let’s face it, that can be really damaging…

Needless to say, the drive back to the office (a whopping 1 mile), my Gal Pal was tense and put his seat belt on and held on to the “Hail Mary” hand grip. I think he even prayed, well, in between asking me “What the fuck is wrong with you?” (as a foot note, he asks that question at least once a week for about 5 yrs so far. lol)