I met a helicopter pilot at the Atusgi Naval Base, in Atsugi Japan on January 26th, 1990. He told me he was always prepared for an emergency. If a rotor failed while he was flying he knew exactly what to do. He had his routine down. He was  prepared.

He said, “You have to follow the steps in order and never deviate from the plan.”

Step 1. Do it
Step 2. Do it.
Step 3. Do it.
Step 4. Do it.
Step 5. Do it.

Always and forever. Follow the steps.

The same logic for flying helicopters applies to never locking your keys in the car.

Have a plan and stick to it.

(And if that plan fails have an emergency back up plan.)

You don’t want to crash your helicopter and you don’t want to sit at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets for an hour waiting for the tow truck to come. You also don’t want to sit in the parking lot at Wal-Mart for an hour waiting for the tow truck to come;  And you  don’t want to sit in the parking lot at Tae Kwon Do waiting for the tow-truck. And you probably would rather not sit at Costco in the parking lot either, watching your ice cream melt.

Locking your keys in the car wastes hours of your life.  Hours that could be spent doing something useful like washing the dishes or cleaning seven litter boxes.

That is why I have a plan. I don’t want to waste hours of my life.

I am always prepared for an emergency. The emergency of locking my keys in the car. It is the secret trick. The Absolutely Foolproof Back up Plan when I don’t follow the Fail Proof Method.

If you know you are forgetful it is best to have a plan in place.

Have you ever locked you keys in the car? If you did it once you may do it again.

I have a method to NEVER lock your keys in the car again. ( The trick is to follow it.)

The Fool Proof Method to NEVER lock your keys in the car again.

1. Always lock your car with the key fob, with the keys in your hand, standing outside of the vehicle.

2. If you take your keys out of the ignition, always put them in your pocket. Do you put them in your purse. You may leave your purse in the vehicle.

3. DO NOT take the keys out of the ignition and place them beside you in the vehicle. You may think, “Oh, yes, I will pick these up in a minute.”  But alas, you probably won’t. Your keys will cry as you lock the car and walk away.”

“Forgotten again. Cry, Cry.”

4. Never. I repeat. Never. Never lock your car door with the button on the car door.

5. These steps are completely useless if you don’t follow them.

Are you still forgetting things?” “I don’t know, I can’t remember,” I said.”
― Stephen King, Duma Key

This morning I almost crashed the helicopter. 

This morning I locked my keys in the car. Again. ( The Fool Proof Method only works if  you follow it.)

I arrived early for an appointment and took the keys out of the ignition and set them down beside me. Then I took  unbraided my hair and brushed it. After I brushed my hair I braided it. Then I grabbed my purse and locked the car with the button on the door.

“Gasp,” you say.

Yes, I violated my own rules. Very careless of me.

When my appointment ended I walked from the office to my car. As I walked to the car I  put my hand in my purse to get my keys. My keys were not in my purse. Were they under my wallet? No they weren’t.   Then I patted down my pants pockets. Then I looked in the pocket of my coat. Then I stood beside the van and looked in the driver’s side window.  And there between the two front seats I saw the Red Canada lanyard with my keys on it.

Time for the Fail Proof Emergency Back up plan.

1. The spare key.

Yes!

It was in the zippered pocket inside my purse.

The helicopter pilot told me something about his emergency back up plan that I forgot to do. 

He practiced.
And practiced.
And practiced.
And practiced.
And practiced.

He probably had to practice more than five times.

Tomorrow I will practice getting in and out of my car. At least five times. I don’t want to crash my helicopter or sit in anymore parking lots. I have dishes to wash and litter boxes to clean.

It is wise to always be prepared.

Do you carry an extra key?

Please tell me in the comments I would love to chat.