Roof diving

I've done it.

You've done it.

We've all watched it happen to other people as they do it.

It has happened since mankind invented the to-go drink and the moving vehicle.

Heck, I bet even Pa Ingalls did it with a cup of joe in a tin cup placed on top of his buckboard.

I'm speaking of the dreaded "putting-your-drink-on-the-roof-of-your-car-then-forgetting-that-it's-there-only-to-remember-it-as-you-drive-off-and-hear-the-sound-of-it-splashing-down-the-back-window-of-your-car" syndrome.

For short I'll acronym it as "pydotroyctftitotriaydoahtsoisdtbwoyc." Yes, that's much simpler and easy to remember. Sort of rolls off you tongue, doesn't it?

I've done it more often as a parent than as a non-parent. Hustling to get the kiddies inside, strapped in, settled down and secure is no small feat. It's the distraction level of the moment that gets you every time.

In addition to drinks I've seen dayrunners go flapping off a roof, important papers and business cards heading south for the winter.

Have also witnessed backpacks go booking, Palm Pilots go plummeting, 3-ringed binders bounding, and the very rare but always worthy of a huge "oh crap" full-on-open briefcase explode in a shower of office supplies as it catches some air and looks for the hardest place to land.

While embarassing and inconvenient these experiences may all be in the anonymity of a busy, bustling city street, the level of humiliation goes up 10 notches when the dreaded pydotroyctftitotriaydoahtsoisdtbwoyc occurs on Main Street, downtown in my small town.

Nothing much happens downtown, but at lunch time the restaurants and shops are abuzz with activity as locals, visiting workers from the nearby businesses, and just passing through folk stop and nourish their noon time hunger cravin's. About 1 p.m., people start heading back to work and meet and greet familiar folk as they get back into their cars, trucks, work vans, etc.

This is not the time ot allow pydotroyctftitotriaydoahtsoisdtbwoyc to enter your life.

I did. It happened. I heard about it later that day.

From several different people.
On several different occasions.
At several different stops during my days routine.

At WalMart - "How's that car wash doing for ya?"
At the grocery store - "Well, ain't you got any drink holders in yer car?"
Dropping off C at her Wed. night activity - "Dr. Pepper makes a good car wash, does it?"
Picking up C at her Wed. night activity - "Heard you had a little accident."

And my favorite one, from the Chief of Police himself, whom I ran into at the recent Escape School for Kids seminar - "You know, I could have given you a ticket for littering." Cop humor. Funny.

I'm standing by, watching the local paper to see if the incident turns up in the Daily Doin's section.