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myself of two of the 10 Commandments, specifically "honor thy mother and father" and "thou shalt not kill".

Dad's still driving my old 2012 Kia Soul. A few of you may remember when he got a 2014 Soul and I had the 2012 Soul and he was complaining about all the fancy "geegaws and doodads" on his newer car, so I jokingly said "let's trade!". And to my surprise, he agreed, so we filled out some paperwork and made it all nice and legal. It was actually mutually beneficial; I got the fancy geegaws and doodads, and he got a vehicle with significantly fewer miles (at that time, I was putting maybe 40 miles per week on the car, mostly driving to and from work). The 2014 Soul eventually turned to 💩 but Dad's stubbornly clinging to his Soul (hee--love a good Soul pun!). His rationing is he doesn't like anything out there these days, and for sure I've heard about a hundred lectures on the CVT (continuous variable transmission) that is ubiquitous to new cars and was 💩 when they first rolled out, but TBH, I think he just doesn't want to a) spend more than $10K on a vehicle (he hasn't done so yet...and for many years now, he's paid cash for his car and hasn't had a car loan) and b) deal with fancy geegaws and doodads on his car. Durn blind spot collision warnings and infotainment screens--who needs 'em!

Today I came home from work and Dad was waiting for me. He said he'd been driving to the recycle center in town when he heard something go clunk. A truck followed him into the recycle center and the driver told Dad the Soul's muffler was dragging. The lovely gentleman did his best to try to "tie it up" but it wasn't going to be permanent, so Dad came back home and called a local muffler shop to see if he could get the car in.

Now here's where those two commandments come into play...Dad told me he wanted to drop the car off tonight instead of having me take him up to the shop first thing in the morning before my double shift (there would be plenty of time).

me: "So are you taking it to <Dad's usual guy>?

Dad: "No, I'm taking it to <muffler shop--let's call it RM)".

Me: "...oh. Well I think we'd be better off dropping the car off in the morning. RM is in a pretty rough neighborhood these days..."

Dad: "So what? "

me: "You're not worried the car will be stolen? Especially since it's a Kia?" (background info: years ago, the "Kia Boys" hit this particular area HARD, and while I think TikTok viewers have moved on from that particular challenge, I still wouldn't risk leaving my Kia in this particular area overnight).

Dad: "Well if it is, don't you think RM would be responsible?"

me: "...???" (I honestly don't know but I'm assuming there's all sorts of waivers and legalese that would absolve the shop from responsibility if someone steals your car).

me: "And while I'm thinking about it, does RM even have a drop box?" (for the keys, of course)

Dad: "<scoffs> Of course they have a drop box! EVERYBODY has a drop box!"

Spoiler alert: they didn't have a drop box.

As we go out the door, Dad then casually drops THIS nugget...

Dad: "Hey, remember how I drilled a hole in my gas tank a while back*? The muffler pipe is sitting pretty close to it, so stay far enough back so you won't get caught if the car bursts into flames".

me (thinking): Wait...what? IS THAT A THING???

Dad (reading my mind): "It probably won't happen..."

So off we go, and I maintain a respectable distance behind Dad, all the while praying a blanket of protection over both of us. We arrive without incident and I can see almost immediately...no drop box. I let Dad walk around for a bit before I get out to see for myself.

me: "So...back home?

Dad: "Yeah..." <proceeds to tuck his car key under the floor mat and leave the note explaining what needs to be done--the note he would've included with his keys in the drop box--on the steering wheel".

me (incredulous): "You're just going to leave the car here? Unlocked? With the keys in it???"

Dad: "Yep"

I can now whistle through the hole I bit in my tongue to keep from either tearing him a new one or smugly saying "I told you so" re: the drop box.

On a VERY concerning note...RM sits on the corner of a main road and a side street and has entrances on both roads. Across the side street, there is a gas station. There's a stoplight there, so I turned right out onto the side street and was waiting for the light to turn green. As I was waiting, I noticed a car come out of the gas station...and turn into the VERY clearly closed muffler shop. I was watching to see if they were just cutting through--maybe they didn't want to wait behind me at the light just to go right (we were going straight at the light) but with all the other cars in the lot, I couldn't see where they went. I'm halfway (most of the way) convinced they were watching Dad and me walking around, looking for a drop box, and knew there was none and now there was a car there, unlocked, keys hidden somewhere, just waiting to be stolen. I'm hoping Dad calls RM tomorrow to make sure they saw his Soul in the lot (hee) and I'm REALLY hoping RM's response isn't "What 2012 Kia Soul?"

* - Oh, about that hole in his gas tank...it was some time last year when I was driving behind Dad after taking him up to his car guy to get his car back from...I think it was getting his shocks replaced. Honestly, at this point he's put enough money into his stupid Soul to have had a sizeable down payment had he just chosen to trade it in a few years ago. Also, I must confess that when Dad starts talking car stuff, all I hear is "wha wha wha wha wha wha" <Peanuts' cartoon teacher voice> On the way home, I noticed there was something hanging low in the back of the car, so I mentioned it when I got home. Well apparently, it was the <wha wha> and Dad tried to reattach it, and he did, but in the process, he drilled a hole in his gas tank. And, remembering my Hyundai Elantra from years back that I had to trade in due to a rusted out spot in ITS gas tank, and the mechanic being unable to find a replacement either new or used, Dad has decided to...do nothing about his holey gas tank (his Soul is Hole-y, tee-hee!) If he keeps the tank only half filled, it isn't a problem. Of course we drivers who have to deal with winter are taught to never have LESS than a half tank of gas when driving on a snowy day but hey, what are you going to do? I wish Dad would just ditch the Soul and get something new (to him)...

ETA: Every time Dad's car has to go to the shop, and the few times mine's been in the shop, I'm treated to a soliloquy on how we "need" three cars. Which is hilarious because a) where would we put the third car? (maybe in the part of the driveway that sticks out, which would work in warmer weather but not in the winter as that's where the plow guy piles up the snow) and b) Dad can't choose ONE new (to him) car, so how is he going to find TWO (*I* certainly can't pitch in to get a third car). I told him tonight that since I'm working a double with my lovely co-worker "B" (Big Grandma Energy) and since she drives RIGHT past my road on her way to and from work, I could ask her to take me to and from work and Dad could have my car to use tomorrow. He said no so I told him fine, but I didn't want to hear ONE WORD about us needing a third car.