Getting Out Of Dodge

Sailing into waters of Uncharted Tiredness. "Aha"!, you say, "then it must be Sunday night". And you are correct. Tonight I am Extra Mega Tired because I spent the afternoon searching high and low for my car keys, instead of resting as I usually do after church. I am sorry to say that I was unable to find the keys, and I looked all over the place here at Pearl's. I even went through the big blue recycling bin, dumped everything out and sorted through it, but no luck. I still refuse to believe that my keys fell out of my pocket at one of the three stops I made on Friday. I stopped at the local Recycling Center, then I stopped at the Ralphs on Saticoy, and finally I stopped at the gas station across the schtreet from Ralphs.

Those three stops were the only times I would have reached into my front pocket for car keys. I was driving Pearl's car at the time, and had I accidentally pulled two sets of keys out of my pocket, all jumbled up, I would have felt it, sensed it in my hand or heard it hit the ground if that had happened. More importantly, I have been operating with three sets of keys in my pocket for almost eight years now, always being careful to pull out the right set and leave the others in the pocket. I can tell each set by it's key fob. So I've been pulling out keys for eight years, and while they sometimes have gotten entangled (very infrequently) and just a few times a set has hit the ground (maybe 5 or six times in 8 years), not once have I failed to notice it. I am very touch sensitive, sight sensitive, hearing, the works.

I notice what is happening around me to an extreme degree, and had I dropped those keys in a parking lot (say, if they became entangled) I would've noticed it for certain.

So, I've instead misplaced them somewhere, but after looking all afternoon, I have no idea where that is.

If I can't find 'em by Wednesday, the choice will come down to "call a locksmith" or "junk the car". I am leaning toward "call a locksmith", but I may have to buy a new (used) car by February anyway. My car has been just barely passing smog for many years now, and I am doubtful it will pass this time.

The problem is not so much buying a new (used) car, it's about looking for one. My work schedule kind of precludes extended excursions, and a search for a good used car can take time.

Well anyway, the heck with it. I don't care about having to replace the key so much as just plain wondering where it is.

Ultimately, "screw it" will be the operating Key Words.

I have come to the conclusion that Getting Out Of Dodge may be the key to happiness in modern life, at least as it concerns avoiding annoyance. That phrase is already well-known, and I suppose to most folks it refers to making a quick exit from a hairy situation. I have adapted it to fit Anything Annoying. I live in a neighborhood with extremely high traffic density. Literally, when you leave your driveway there are cars coming at you from all angles - from all available lanes of Reseda Boulevard, both directions in an endless flow. They are coming out of every apartment parking lot, out of every strip mall driveway. Sometimes it seems like there are more cars than people, and it has gotten so bad in Northridge that it is ruining the quality of life here. But it's just the cars. Not the people. I have said to myself "I hate CSUN", because the University adds 40,000 people to my 'Hood, and all of them with a car. But I don't really hate CSUN. I love CSUN. It's been my backyard for almost 50 years. What I hate is the cars. They are everywhere, and they never stop coming, even late at night.

So I've started using the phrase, "Just get outta Dodge". To me, that usually means just getting away from the area if I am in a car. I take side streets, anything to get away from Reseda Boulevard. I don't mind driving longer, in time or mileage, just to escape the chaos.

So escaping the chaos is really what Getting Out Of Dodge represents. For me, it is mainly local traffic, which for me is an every day experience, and it sucks. Or it could now mean how I respond to the loss of my car keys, when I have no time to replace my ancient-but-still-running car.

"Get Outta Dodge". Don't sweat it.

I like Getting Out Of Dodge. It is becoming my motto. No matter what happens, I can always Get Out Of Dodge.

Now, I should tell you that I have even contemplated moving out to the desert. Not now, but eventually.

But then I wouldn't have any rock concerts, and I'd have to drive fifty miles just to go to the store, and all kinds of stuff like that. So then I'd have to Get Out Of Dodge there, too.

Ahh......a Happy Medium is what is required. I am of course Too Tired To Think About It Tonight, so I will let you do so instead.

Anybody? A third-way alternative to either high-density cities with horrendous traffic, or boondock desert living with no rock concerts?

Me, I dunno. I just practice Getting Out Of Dodge in all ways, as a philosophy.  :):)