Coulda been on "Cops"

[dirt dame 561]

My father recently took a turn for the worse in his general physical and mental health. People get old and stuff wears out. My dad is almost 90, and because of his condition (Alzheimers), he has become unable to care for himself or move about safely. Because of this, he has taken up residence at a nursing home. I take mom to visit him almost every day.

In the meantime, I started to drive his 2000 Camry. It had sat for so long that the battery went dead, so I charged it up, cleaned out the interior a bit and started to give it a daily workout. It gets better gas mileage than either of the vehicles that I own and is a comfortable way to shuttle mom around. That being said, I don’t really care much for the car. It is uncomfortable for me and because dad once forgot about a gallon of milk in the trunk for many weeks, the car smells extremely bad too. Even after a complete detailing and shampooing. I hung some of those lame, stinky little tree air fresheners in the trunk and the cab, but they aren’t cutting it.

Yesterday afternoon, I was fed up with the smelly Camry and drove it over to Walmart to get some sort of spray enzyme stuff that would neutralize the stink. When I was walking back to the car, I noticed that there was a cover missing on the steering wheel. It was the cover that conceals the diagnostic plug-in. It looked bad, so I started to look around the car for the cover. It wasn’t on the floor or in the center console, so I started to rummage through the glove box. It wasn’t there, but what was there puzzled me. I spied a small leather wallet-like item that had a zipper. I pulled it out and unzipped it. Inside was a mirror, a razor blade, a…..you get the picture, and even though I’m a goody two shoes individual, I also don’t live under a rock, and I know a coke kit when I see one.

I was surprised to say the least. What was a coke kit doing in my 89 year old fathers glove compartment? My guess is that he saw it laying on the ground somewhere, picked it up and took it to his car. I don’t know if he knew that it was a coke kit or not, but he probably just threw it in the glove box and forgot about it. Of course, just short of drugs, this is about the stupidest thing that a person could be toting around in their vehicle. I couldn’t get it into the trash can fast enough. My mind kept imagining what could happen in a routine traffic stop or any situation where I might encounter the good services of a law enforcement officer. “Could I see your registration please….wait a minute, what’s that?!” Then it would start to look like one of the many “Cops” segments that I have seen over the years. “Um….what? THAT? I don’t know anything about that, officer. Honest, I don’t know how that got there!” Soon, I would probably be telling that to a judge.

[shift 0]

good thing you found that kit before someone else did. that'd be tough to explain.

as for the odor, i recommend getting a small ozone machine. you can buy small ones for $50 or so or possibly rent them. anyways, let one run in the camry for 2 days straight with the windows up. after 2 days, remove it and open the windows without breathing the ozone. let it air out for a few hours and your sour should be gone for good. ozone is good for killing odor causing bacteria, even pet urine in carpets and padding.

[KIP 0]

My mind kept imagining what could happen in a routine traffic stop or any situation where I might encounter the good services of a law enforcement officer. “Could I see your registration please….wait a minute, what’s that?!” Then it would start to look like one of the many “Cops” segments that I have seen over the years. “Um….what? THAT? I don’t know anything about that, officer. Honest, I don’t know how that got there!” Soon, I would probably be telling that to a judge.

Yeah - or if you agreed to let the Border Patrol search the car at a checkpoint : They would have another car to sell at auction. Always keep a clean interior and deny permission to search. Keep your registration and insurance handy without opening compartments. The BP can damage and rip your car apart if you allow them to search it. The correct answer is "no you cannot search my car" "Why do you want to search it?" If an LEO wants you to step out of the car then comply - bring your keys with you and lock the car and restate "you do not have permission to search my car." BP can tear up or damage your car and you cannot do S#$t about it.

Most of my interactions with LEOs have been ok - but there have been two stops (both in East Vista while driving junky cars) where the tone was very negative. One time was due to expired tags on my old Motorhome - I did not paste the new ones on. Two sheriffs? Sit on the Curb, can we search your vehicle - etc... wait-- your address is on Tierra Del Cielo? You can go now.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Oh Lord, please do not let this turn into yet another LEO bashing session.

Mimi, I'm glad you are keeping your chin up during this difficult and sad time.

[KIP 0]

What was a coke kit doing in my 89 year old fathers glove compartment?

All 80s cars came with that kit The question is why was it in a 2000 model

Yes = lets not turn this into an LEO bashing forum - but honest citizens should know their basic rights and how an honest mistake could result in problems.

Mimi - I am sorry about your father. I helped my father before he passed on and it was tough. I cannot even imagine how much more difficult it would have been if he suffered from dementia.

[JohnnyAirtime 2]

Interesting to say the least! ... and yes, me too... sorry to hear your father isn't doing so well. 90 huh?! He's LIVED, thats for sure!

I have similar parent stories....

But we know where the "stuff" came from in this house (I have 3 older sisters). As once, when I looked in my dad's top dresser drawer and spied a huge bag of (old) weed. I could go on and on... specifically because one of my sisters dated a drug dealer while I was in high-school. So, any LEO job I persued was pretty much out of the question... even though I did well all the way up to the oral interview or background checks. LOL!!

No drugs in the kit??

... found a wallet once. Had a bag of meth in it. I sent the wallet back to the original owner (USPS) with a note, DON'T DO DRUGS. And of course, flushed the meth.

Good luck on the odor!

[dirt dame 561]

Thanks everyone for the well wishes and the tips for stinky cars.

[Zenosan 2]

I accidently locked my cat in my Nissan 300zx for a couple of days. I opened the door to put my new insunrance voucher in the glove compartment and the cat snuck into the back seat without me noticing it. I closed the door and put the car cover on it. Two days later when comming home late at night I noticed the parking lights glowing from under the cover. Opened it up and the cat jumped out. The cat knocked the light switch on while frantically trying to find a way out. Needless to say cat urine got on a lot of carpeting. The only solution was to take out the seats and all the carpeting and shampoo the whole works. Carpets haven't look that nice in years. But the smell is gone.

[Uncle Champ 116]

Sorry about Dad, I found a pipe one time after a car wash. Hey probably B.S. but I know people that swear to crunch up newspapers and put them in the offending vehicle and they somehow soak up the odor, it could be worth trying by filling up the trunk with balled up newspaper. Explain that to the cops. I always love on cops when the perp says " these aren't my pants officer ". Good luck,and my prayers are with you.