Speaking of Galactically Stupid….

Even I do things that are galactically stupid. Yes, I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true.

I drive a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. I’ve had a lot of cars in my life, but this particular one is high on my list of favorites. I like its ride, I like the power of the V-8, and I enjoy driving it. It’s hard on gas mileage–these days, $50 won’t fill it–but that’s about all I can say negative about it. It’s already got about 75,000 miles on it.

Like most new cars, this one came with two keys. However, Susan lost hers about a year ago, meaning we’ve been operating with just one key. Well, somehow, some way, I managed to lose the other one on Sunday night, somewhere between the car and the time I went to bed. It had to have been lost here in the house somewhere, but I will be damned if I could find it. Susan and I tore the place apart last night. Literally and figuratively. And we still couldn’t find it.

An SUV without any keys is a very large and very expensive paperweight. And that’s what my Jeep was all day yesterday. After we realized we couldn’t find the damned key, it then became obvious that the only way to restore it to being a useful vehicle and not a very large and very expensive paperweight was to bite the bullet and replace the keys.

The keys, of course, are not the sort of keys one runs to Kmart and gets cut. Nah, why should I get off that easy? It all has to be done at a dealership. The keys include a computer chip, and once cut, they have to be programmed. What’s more is that they not only have to be programmed, the vehicle has to be there when they do it. Otherwise, the key will not work. When one’s SUV is a very large and very expensive paperweight and cannot be started due to a lack of having any keys, there’s only one way to get it to the dealership. That’s right, you guessed it: on the business end of a tow truck.

So, this morning, I did what had to be done. I had it towed, they cut and programmed new keys, and about an hour later, I drove off, the Grand Cherokee no longer a very large and very expensive paperweight. And, as I drove away feeling galactically stupid for losing the key inside my own house, our checking account was $322.70 lighter. Talk about an expensive lesson.

But hey, we now have two functional keys again, and I don’t expect the thing to turn into a very large and very expensive paperweight again any time soon…..