Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Wallets - check, ID`s - check, car keys - ........ ?????


It`s been a few days but do not fear, the Running Golfer is here. We had an awesome weekend away and got back late on Sunday night. Since then I have not even been on a blog. For some reason I just didn`t have the inclination. So today is my first day back in the blogosphere

We spent the weekend in Umhlanga, which is situated on the East Coast of South Africa in Kwazulu Natal. I loved every second of it. Hayley and I are not too fond of the East Coast mainly because the humidity is terrible. We are creatures of comfort, as you probably know! But I must say, Umhlanga was awesome. We had the best time

The reason for our visit was that my Father-in-Law, Clive, turned 60 on Sunday. It was such a privilege to spend this time with such a wonderful family and more especially with my Dad, who is my role model in so many ways. Dad has timeshare in Umhlanga and the rest of the family go there every December for a week. Hayley and I joined them for the first time. It`s not that we`re not invited, it`s just that we have always been working during this week. So this year we finally got to spend some time with the family

My real story is something that happened at approximately 16:00 on Sunday afternoon. Hayley and I flew back at 18:00 on Sunday and Mark had to fly back to Johannesburg 30 minutes later. We had a 30 minute drive to the airport, so we all got ready to leave. We had just packed the last stuff into our tiny rental car. I was playing with Devon when I suddenly heard a commotion behind me. I looked around to see Hayley`s face a whiter shade of pale. She had locked the car keys in the car. The doors were all locked and although we could see the keys, we had no way of getting to them. So, there we were, all our luggage had been packed into the car, including our house keys, my car keys etc. We only had her handbag with our wallets in it. Dad phoned the AA and they said that they would send somebody to assist in getting the keys out the car. Dad would wait for them and then race to the airport as soon as the car was open again. We however, were running out of time fast

So after figuring out that we would be able to fly back and get the spare keys from the "dog sitter", Hayley`s Mom jumped into Dad`s Murano and we RUSHED to the airport. We got there just before 17:00 and saw that our plane had been delayed by 15 minutes. I went to the BA office and explained our situation with the luggage. The nicest lady helped me and got pour luggage checked, without it even being there! How cool was that? She said that we could just bring it as soon as it arrives.

We stood waiting and 5 minutes before boarding, the little Hyunday Atos came zooming around the corner with Clive Schumacher behind the wheel! We grabbed the bags, raced to get them checked and made it with literally a minute to spare!

I wish I could day this was an anomally but I can`t. There is never a dull moment with Hayley and her family and I have gotten used to something strange happening, always!




13 comments:

Anonymous said...

notably absent from this amusing story, is your reaction.

did you act like a man? did you scream, shout, swear? mutter under your breath? threated to kill/divorce/leave behind?

or did you say: "don't worry, sweetie, this could happen to anyone. it will be ok. here, let me give you a comforting hug before we stop a second to figure this out calmly"?

come on, be honest!... :-)

Ordinarylife said...

Glad you all had a fantastic time.
And the car keys - well Hayley and I could be related?

nessie said...

Hah hah! Sounds like a proper adventure. Fortunate that everything worked out crazily like that.
As for our humidity... tell me about it, even the aircons are sweating.

The Running Golfer said...

Ummmmm Jacki, a very good point which I was hoping would be overlooked! I was a annoyed but I handled it pretty well, I think! Hayley might have another take on the issue!

OrdinaryLife, I would not be surprised actually! What with the mouse in the gym bag and the PE thing...

Nessie, I was keeping an eye out for you, seeing that we were in your neck of the woods. No such luck though.

Heather Nicole said...

Glad you are home safely!

Kevin said...

Glad you guys had fun.

Darryl said...

Welcome Back, Francois -- we've missed you around the blogs, and am glad you had a great time with family.

It's refreshing to hear a story about a helpful airline attendant . . . so often, they are portrayed as heartless automatons!

As far as the car keys, I have been tempted to use "key of last resort" -- a brick through the side glass, but thus far, haven't had to resort to such tactics!

Hope you guys are having a great week in the Southern Hemisphere!

The Running Golfer said...

Hey Heather and Kev, thanks guys, good to be back!

Hey Darryl, I loved the "key of last resort"! Very funny! We were also very impressed by the helpful attendant, not something you see every day.

Anonymous said...

hey, francois
missed you.
there's a little more drama to the story, the way hayley tells it... glad to know y'all are ok, and had a good time. just think how much more you'll remember your trip, now that it had an exciting, down to the wire ending.

now for the important questions. who does hayley most resemble in her family? does she smile like mom, or have the same laugh as her dad? is her sister's taste in decorating just as wonderful?
and if you're not feeling it, no need to post. although i did wonder if maybe elvis was going to ghost-write for you pretty soon :)

jenn said...

That sounds like something I would do, locking everything in the car. Sounds like you need a kid. Seriously, Shiloh's only two and I got out of the car the other day and she said, "Mommy, get your keys! Mommy, get your keys!" Maybe she was scared I would lock her in the car. (Haven't done that one, but I have locked my keys in there twice in the last year.) Glad you guys had a good time.

The Running Golfer said...

Hey Lisa! Elvis has been writing this blog from the beginning, I just take the credit... :) I`ll have to think about those questions and it might just make a pretty cool post! Watch this space.

Hey Jenn! I`m sure Hayley would agree with the kid thing! Maybe we need a kid to look after Hayley!

David Richardson said...

Francois -

Great pictures of a good looking couple!

Interesting story too.

I'm glad you're back to the blogging world. You're missed when you're gone.

Blessings, my friend.

David

Kevin said...

It's been a week since Francois has posted something...wondering if we should organize a search and rescue - alert the police - alert the bloggingsphere, Amber alert style!