Shadow Puppet Storyteller

New Car, "Smell

Bad..."

I love that I have the option to go to a Drive-in Theater still. So many have disappeared from the California landscape, that most people are surprised to hear that a few do yet survive. My romanticism about the Drive-in may be slipping. For about a week and a half, when I've entered my car, it smelled like a whole pumpkin or cantalope was rotting away slowly in it. I think everyone in my family except for me must have dead nerve endings in their collective nasal passages (or whatever it is that activates a sense of smell. (There are benefits to this for a wife and mother, they'll eat just about anything!)

So, you may wonder how I could wait until this morning to clean the car interior and seek out the organic matter decaying away in the back seat. For now, I have a short commute. Once I'm out of the car, I think it leaves my mind. And, well... I'm a working mom; remarkably little time is spent in concern of the look and or smell of the car. Although, I prefer to give myself a pat on the back, I am getting better in the timely attending to messes. Perhaps the concern is in direct measure to how close I am to owning the ever-inching closer to decade-old car free 'n clear. Perhaps my consciousness itself is clearer and abhors a stinky environment.

THE NEXT CONFESSION IS PARTICULARLY DESCRIPTIVE OF WHAT WAS STUFFED UNDER THE SEATS OF OUR CAR - NOT FOR THE WEAK STOMACHED **BEWARE**BEWARE** (The author is forgiving herself and hopes others will not form long-standing opinions in general cleanliness of me and mine.)

The offending item was the chili cheese fries from Del Taco from Memorial Day Weekend. These were had by at least one child and one friend that was brought along to the Drive-in. I remember someone said the fries had gotten stepped upon. My fault for assuming the decimated item was thrown away in a trash can. However, here is my accounting of all else I dug out. (Vegetarian friends will laugh at my experience of finding dessicated meat products!)

Two large pieces of a Slim Jim (meat stick)
a blob of refried beans or meat
stray french fries
juice bottle 3/4 filled with juice, sealed shut, but expanding
corn dog sticks
several hair accessories, and an anklet
three shoes
five socks
seven "kids meal" toys
various catalogs
a volume of E.B. White stories
five journals of various sizes
one White Pages phone book
one Yellow Pages phone book (Feb 2008)
four complete newspapers from different weeks
a sweater, a shirt, a hat, a page of directions, unused envelopes
two coloring books, a red ink pen,
many, many pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers, reusable drink tumblers, fast food cups, straws, wrappers
at least two lollipop sticks with plenty of sugar stuff still on them
A Trader Joe's empty, full-sized paper grocery bag, which I filled with all the recyclable trash I uncovered.
I filled a 13-gallon kitchen trash bag with about nine gallons of straight-out trash

Like a visioning, where I am encouraged to remember what was experienced and write about it for future clarity, I made particular note of all I found. (And, boy, is my youngest in for it!) The whole family will be invited to read this list and know that from now on, none of these items will enter the one and only car this family has with any of the following items WITHOUT THOSE SAME ITEMS LEAVING with the occupants after use of the car.