Locked Out

It was my junior year of college, and I was in the midst of taking several Social Work classes, one of them being an afternoon class. If you prod me as to which one, I will never remember...but it was a required one, I do remember that much...actually, all of them are required, so that's a moot point.

I attended my noon class as normal, and then I sat the break waiting for my 7pm Spanish class to begin. The class was a 2 hour class, and was held twice a week, as was my noon class, so I had a five hour break- enough to drop in and buy a snack for dinner and perhaps study some vocab on the way to the building which was quite a distance away. It had horrible parking, so I usually walked, then walked back to my car after class, seeing as the walking distance had multiple emergency boxes and was well-lit.

Because I didn't drive my car between my noon and 7pm classes, it didn't dawn upon me to reach in my purse and check for my keys before I left the building. Big mistake.

When I was leaving my 7pm class- at nearly 9pm, in the winter, so it was dark out- I reached in my purse for my keys. Not there. Ohhh shit. Maybe I clipped them to my bag? I have a carabiner clip, so this is entirely possible. I check my bag, but my keys are not there. I dump out the entire contents of my purse on my car. Surely, there must be a set of keys in there somewhere. I dig through it all. Nothing.

I shove everything back in my purse, throw my purse over my shoulder, and unarm my backpack. I search through the small front pocket. No such luck. A few pens and a few stray items like a bottle of lotion, some ibuprofen, a highlighter, some notecards. Great. I can't find my keys. I'm locked out of my car. It's dark out, I'm in a parking lot, at the university, people are leaving, I'm 35 miles from home, and I'm locked out of my car.

I empty the large compartment of my backpack. I find books and a notebook. A stray package of crackers. More notecards. A very crumpled piece of paper. No keys. Great. I decide to backtrack, back to the building where I was last- maybe I dropped them there. (Not thinking to maybe check the Social Work building, where I was parked, first)

I call my mom and tell her I'm locked out of my car in Arlington, and that I am backtracking to see if I can find them. She says she's on her way, very unhappily I might add, since she's driving 70 miles to drop off a set of keys, and I take off for Preston Hall basement, the location of my Spanish class.

Freezing, I make my way into the building, and nobody is there but the cleaning crew. They let me in after trying to communicate for about 5 minutes about what it is I'm trying to find, but nothing is there. I bid farewell, and back to the Social Work Complex I go. My mom hasn't arrived yet, so I trek to my 10am class- no luck there (surprisingly, the door was unlocked). I ran upstairs to my noon class- ah, it was Practice III- but the doors are locked, so I find a cleaning crew lady, and she lets me in, but no luck.

Finally my mom arrives, with my keys, and I drive home, racking my brains trying to figure out where the heck I left my keys. It had to be Social Work, because I remembered having them in the morning, but I didn't remember seeing them in Spanish class. I was very frustrated with this, so I drove the 35 miles the next day (why didn't I call?) to ask if they had any keys turned into the office the day before (at both buildings).

Voilá. My keys had been in the Social Work building, in the office, the whole time.

I was locked out of my car and my keys were right there, within feet of where I was. I felt really smart idiotic that day. Now I almost compulsively check for my keys. We live and we learn!

Ten Years Time

Today's post will be my 199th post. The next will be number 200, and I've already got something in mind for that, but I've got something else in mind for today.

Yesterday's post was about where I picture myself in 10 years, and I've written other posts about where I picture myself in the future- prompted posts often ask about where we picture ourselves in the future.

But one thing they don't do is look at the past. Ten years ago Sunday is a significant date in the lives of Americans- we, as a country, as a whole, were attacked. Many of us that were old enough to remember do- we were in a classroom, at work, at the gym- it's something that we've related as a story, and there are even songs that ask "Do You Remember?"

I was in freshman choir class, with the most difficult and strict choir director (and probably the best choir) that I ever had. This was the one day we sat down our sheet music and turned on the television. I was 13, almost 14. I hadn't moved to Ft. Worth yet- I lived by the military base Ft. Hood- one of the biggest in the country, and many of my classmates were children of military parents. Yes....I remember.

Ten years ago, on this date, I never would have predicted that America would be attacked. On this writing prompt, had I written it in English class, I probably would have written something like "I want to graduate high school (check) and college (barely check), get a job (not yet), move out of my house (kinda check- different house, but still live with parents)"...basic things.

Things come up in life that we don't expect, and it's hard to prepare for stuff like this. Disasters strike every day- earthquakes, fires (there was one eerily close to my small town recently), floods, tornadoes, attacks, you never know what will happen, or when it will happen. America never knew that on September 11, 2001, they would be the target of an attack. They never knew that ten years later, there would be a memorial of an attack that they never planned on having. If you had asked any American, it wouldn't have been in their itinerary. I certainly wouldn't have had it planned.

We don't plan for disaster- it just happens. It doesn't have to happen, but it does. It doesn't happen to everyone, but it does happen to some, and that's when others reach out. When September 11th happened, there was a burst of patriotism- songs were written, schools had assemblies, security was tightened, and Americans understood (for the most part). Flags came out and were more prominent. If you ask an American about September 11, you can be almost certain that they'll know what you're talking about- even the young ones that weren't around when it happened. It's in the history books, it's in stories, it's in lifelines, and people remember. People talk about it. People read about it.

Now, it's ten years later. Can you believe it's been ten years?

Phone a Friend

In Texas, currently, it is illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving a vehicle in a school zone during school zone hours while moving without a hands-free headset-fine $200. If your vehicle is stopped, it is ok. School zone hours are posted on a sign, with a lower speed limit and a warning about the cell phone law, typically with flashing lights indicating that the school zone hours are being enforced. Any other time and place has no law whatsoever against the use of a mobile device while driving, nor any restrictions on how a mobile device shall be used.

This may change in one city soon.

How absurd is that? The school zone law is a state-wide ordinance, and is well posted throughout the state, at the limit of every school zone, which is well defined. However, city limits, especially when cut off in the middle of a neighborhood, are not as clearly defined, and this new law will only apply in Arlington, Texas.

How do I know about it? Media coverage. My mom was watching the news and told me about the possible city ordinance. Do I know whether or not they passed the ordinance? Not a clue. I've tried to find information, but no clear cut "passed" or "didn't pass".

Now, I'm all for safe driving. I love when people drive safe. I have no problem, though, with the use of cell phones with driving, when it comes to certain people. Certain people, in fact, can use a cell phone while driving, it's called multitasking. Some people really can pull it off, and be just as attentive. There are those, however, that cannot, but still do anyway. Understandable that they would want to pass an ordinance.

What doesn't make sense, though, is that it's not the hand holding the phone that is the problem with the drivers. It is the distraction of being in a conversation with another person- just as if one were to be in a conversation with other passengers in the car. Engaging in conversations themselves are the distractions, not the holding of a cell phone. I can hold a phone all the way home, but it doesn't make it a distraction. I'm sure that's the case with the majority of the population. So why does a hands-free device make it any better? The person is still engaging in conversation, just in a more discreet manner. Safer? Probably not.

In my case, I often call people on the road because it keeps me alert, rather than submitting to the ever so dreadful highway hypnosis, as they call it in drivers' education. I've actually caught myself becoming a victim, even singing to the music. However, when I'm forced into thought processing, even if I'm not actually talking to the person about anything except the highway, it grounds me, so I don't start going cross-eyed on the road. Unfortunately, I don't have a hands-free headset, because Jabra is a crappy brand, and doesn't work.

What will get me is the enforcement of this. You see, in Arlington, there is a major university, where national and international students alike come every year, this year peaking at 35,000 student enrollment last I checked. That's not to include community colleges. Just University of Texas at Arlington, my (now) alma mater.

When these people, some of whom commute from Ft. Worth or other places in the metroplex, some of whom are from a different country, come to Arlington, how are they to know when, where, and how the rules are applicable to them? I don't currently know the city limits of Arlington. I also know that within Arlington, there are several independent cities, two of which are Pantego and Dalworthington Gardens...do the laws apply there too? Where do the limits start and stop? What if I pick up my phone outside limits, and drop it once I enter the city?

And this also begs another question- what about travelers? Do they expect travelers to look up the cell phone laws of every single city they will be traveling through in order to make certain that they follow all the cell phone laws? Will they let people off the hook if they're not from the area? Will that be fair to residents, if travelers are let off the hook?

So, I wonder, is it really responsible, and, furthermore, reasonable, for a city to make this kind of ordinance? It seems sort of unreasonable to me. If they want to make any sort of notification for this, they will have to post it at any point where a person enters the city, as well as any points of uncertainty...wouldn't this be ineffective cost-wise? Plus, we must consider- how many accidents really are the result of a phone call? How many are the result of other things? Is it more reasonable to find some other way to prevent traffic collisions?

Please, Arlington, consider your population. Consider how many people you draw in for Six Flags, Dallas Cowboys games, Texas Rangers games, Dallas Stars games, etc., and how this could affect attendance. Think about the people who would be affected by a law they might not even know about. Think about the actual effectiveness of this law, and whether it is really, truly called for. Are there other, more pertinent issues on the table...for instance, public transportation, seeing as we're living in the largest metro area with no public transport?

All things taken into consideration, I think that this is just another law that should probably be passed over. This is a state issue- if they really want it banned, it should be taken to a state level, so that the entire public, not just the partial population of one city and whoever watched the news that night is aware of these changes. We don't need to be funneling money into the police department because they keep finding ways to ticket us. Besides, like I said, I don't even know where the Arlington city limits are. Where do I drop my phone? Hm?

Besides, again, it is not holding the device that's dangerous. Reconsider what you're looking at. Revise your plans to fit the needs of the public. If you have a really big issue, take it up with the state so that there is a higher level of awareness. Address the real problem, and in a practical way. People are going to continue to use cell phones, so we need to find a more practical solution.

Ideas?