Dad’s car needs to go in for a big repair. The last time we did this the mechanic gave us a not so subtle hint that our car smells a bit too much like dog, by dousing it in heavy deodorizer. So to avoid that embarrassment this time, we decided to clean out the car before dropping it off, which resulted in car archaeology. Car archaeology is like regular archaeology in that we go through the layers of artifacts in the car making discoveries, but without the fun of digging in the dirt. Actually, now that I think of it, there was a lot of sand in the car, just not enough for digging. I should probably mention too that Dad’s car is 18 years old, so has accumulated a lot of stuff in it over the years.
The first layer is what we expected with reusable shopping bags, extra masks, hand sanitizer, and an assortment of missing winter gloves and hats. Beneath that layer we reached the Roaming Period, in which we found items from our summer adventures, including bug spray, beach towels, as well as an assortment of shells and sea glass. Mom is always collecting sea glass and shells claiming that someday she will make a beautiful mosaic with it. At this point she has enough bits and pieces to rival the biggest mosaics from Ancient Rome. But I digress.
Next we reached the pre-pandemic layer. To confirm the absolute dating of these artifacts, we found receipts from stores Mom and Dad actually set foot inside, before they became obsessed with online shopping; brochures of museums and historic sites we visited; and a 2019 postcard from Dog Mountain that Asa forgot to mail. Scattered throughout these layers were old stale treats, granola bars, balls, squeaky toys, extra leashes, and lots and lots of spare poop bags. Based on this discovery, I estimate that it will be a long time before Mom needs to buy us more bags.
Eventually we reached the bottom layer. There we made the most profound discoveries. After clearing away the clutter we found angel Lemmy’s favorite blanket and his old collar. Mom had forgotten that she placed his collar in the car when we set off for our first adventure without him in 2014. She wanted Lemmy to be with us for all our grand adventures, and sure enough he was. Thank you angel Lemmy for being our copilot! Once Dad’s car is repaired, we will put your collar and blanket back for future adventures. Now if you’ll please excuse us, before dropping off the car for repairs we need to mail that old postcard to our Great Uncle!
