Unexpected agility test

[dreamshark]

I had to stop for gas yesterday on the way to work, and I impulsively decided to go through the car wash to get rid of the impacted wheel-well chunks that were starting to impede turning the front wheels.  I then drove 20 miles to work with the heat blasting, which I figured would be enough to dry out the doors.  Wrong!

When I came out of work last night (with the temp a little above zero) I found every car door frozen tightly shut. Of course mine was the last car in the lot, at least on that side of the building.  No matter how I pulled and tugged and cursed, the only orifice that could be pried open was the hatchback. So I did the only thing I could do, crawling in the hatchback and all the way up to the front seat. This is something I could have done easily 30 or 40 years ago, even encumbered as I was in winter clothes and boots. But I am not that limber any more, and I can't put much weight on my knees. It took me a good 10 minutes to inch my way the length of the car and squirm into the front seat.

Fortunately, once inside the car I was able to open the doors by kicking them open. Which was sort of satisfying, actually.

Comments

[tagwn.livejournal.com]

Good grief! I wouldn't have been able to do it. Glad you managed it, though. I washed our's last Friday when it was warmish and opened and closed the doors a lot when I got home. Still, with our old heap, one never knows.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if I'd have to go out the hatch when I was stuck in the car early this afternoon. Getting over the console and out through the passenger door was hard enough.

It was satisfying just to read about it being sort of satisfying to kick the doors open from the inside. Take that, winter!

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

It was reading about your trials and tribulations that made me remember to write about mine. Getting over the center console is actually the hardest part, especially with a manual gear shift lever in the middle of it all.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Wow! I'm impressed! I don't think I could manage that in my van.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I had to do that in the Yugo once. It cured me of washing my cars in the winter.

K.

[pyffe.livejournal.com]

The Bog washed my car today. It won't go above freezing for a while here in PA. Guess I'll see what happens tomorrow.

[jiawen]

Hah! Take that, fiendish door!

Yeah, I've learned not to ever wash cars in the winter. I tried once when the temperature was going to be above freezing for a few hours. Turns out that was not enough, and my passenger side door now has more idiosyncrasies.

[quility.livejournal.com]

Yay!! go you!

[thorintatge.livejournal.com]

Impressive! Way to rise to the challenge.