Pluggers by Rick McKee for May 19, 2018

amen to that

It’s not like you can pick your vehicle out from all the other clones – unless you’re Earl and drive a Studebaker.

Should have been row 9.

Ukrop’s grocery store used to give their parking lanes names – Blueberry Street, Gingerbread Lane. . . It made it much easier to find your car.

I take pictures now.

It works better to have a landmark- it’s the row by the soda machines, or where “groceries” is written on the wall. Numbers are too easy to forget. Worse yet, I have gotten lost in a big Walmart and had to go straight till I hit a wall and then circle the outer wall until I got to the checkout, which is a day’s exercise when you are 74. Seriously, it is necessary to have a strategy when you are old, because it can feel pretty panicky to be lost in a Walmart or unable to find your car. Never get lost in a Lowe’s though, I know it like my own house, spend about as much time and money there.

I just try to go when it’s less busy & park in a less used area. It’s a little longer walk, but I know where my car is. Also it’s easier to get in & out of the lot. It even works at Walmart.

A minor advantage of driving an 8 foot tall van.

When we were first dating, my Mr Man and I went to the fair and couldn’t find the car. I suggested he hit the panic button. It worked. We were 1 car away. I will never let him forget.

Antenna flag works for me.

About 10 years ago I saw a guy take a picture of the post near his car in a parking garage. It took me a few seconds to realize why. Smart guy. I now do that too.

The only thing more fun than finding the Taurus at the grocery store is finding the F150 at Home Depot.

I’ve lost my car in a multi-story car park more than once, I’m usually looking on the wrong floor.

I must have been a Plugger even in my younger days. I borrowed a friend’s car to go to KMart and buy a parakeet. I realized to my dismay that I didn’t remember where the car was. I didn’t know the make or model; all I knew was that it was a blue older model car. I couldn’t even ask security for help, since I knew so little about it. I couldn’t wait until the lot cleared out, because it would have been hours to wait, and of course I had the parakeet! And my friend needed the car back before she went to work! Fortunately, she had left a Halloween mask in the back window, so I walked around and around until I saw the mask and could leave!

If you are from Meadow Grove, just quit driving to Norfolk. Problem solved.