Locking Keys in the Car – A Family Legend

May 22nd, 2008 by Diane Seymour | 3

My son recently wrote an article suggesting ways to develop the good habit of never locking your keys in the car. If you follow his advice, you’re sure to avoid the stress and embarrassment that I’ve suffered several times in my lifetime. Tyler’s focus on car keys may be a direct reaction to growing up with me!

Locking keys in cars wasn’t such a big deal years ago when inside locks were two-inch stems on the top of door panels; push down to lock, pull up to unlock. With a little practice, anyone could unlock a door from the outside with a wire coat hanger. Slide the bent end through the gap behind the window, fish it toward the lock stem, hook on, pull up and within ten minutes, you’re on your way again. Despite multiple opportunities to practice this art due to my repetitive bad habit of locking keys in cars, the day at the dry cleaners even challenged me.

Outside the cleaners, I slammed the door on the Chevette, and immediately felt the rush of adrenaline hit me – the keys were still in the car, along with two-year-old Tyler. “How could you do such a stupid thing?” ran through my head as I quickly moved around the car to assess the situation. For a few fleeting moments, I thought that Tyler could open the lock, but each time I pointed and told him pull, he just smiled. His interest in me soon switched to the bag of Oreo cookies sitting next to him on the car seat. He turned back to me with another really big smile and a cookie in each hand! No help from him, so……….

I stepped back into the dry cleaners to get a coat hanger, thinking how fortunate that this happened right in front of a business with an abundance of the right tools! The wire job proved more difficult than usual. I fished and hooked and pulled to no avail. Meanwhile, my son watched me happily as he stuffed cookie after cookie into his mouth. Finally, after redesigning my wire hook, I managed to unlock the door. With a big sigh of relief, I flung the door open, hugged my son, threw the hanger on the floor, and slammed the door. Oh wait…I missed a step. I flung open the door, hugged my son, threw the hanger on the floor, pushed the lock down, and slammed the door. Yes, can you believe it? I actually locked the door again without getting the keys!

The dry cleaning lady grudgingly gave me another coat hanger, wondering what I could possibly be doing with a second one. While I worked on the lock again, muttering to myself the whole time, my son finished the bag of cookies, never losing that cookie-covered smile. Convinced that there must be something seriously wrong with me, I swore never to tell this story to anyone! Of course, I did tell the story, and it came to be known in our family as The Car Key Legend. If only someone had written good key habit tips a few years earlier………..

3 Comments on “Locking Keys in the Car – A Family Legend”


  1. How To Never Lock Your Keys In The Car Again | Living Consciously | The Weblog of Tyler Seymour said:

    […] a bit of a problem with locking your keys in the car. Repeatedly. See one of her stories over at Home Beckons. While it has lead to some rather funny stories, it’s not exactly a fun experience to go […]


  2. Locking Keys in the Car - Another True Story | Home Beckons said:

    […] ready for another adventure. Good car key habits – needed them then, still need them now! See Locking Keys in the Car. Filled under: Family, Uncategorized | You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS […]


  3. janice said:

    Loved the locking the keys in your car.Keep uo the good work.

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