Friday Ku-Tip: The magic tool

Summer 2009 was our last time in Colorado.

And I will always remember it for one very amusing reason.

Our truck would not start when it was time to leave.

Picture our Tundra loaded down with four people, two dogs, two bikes and enough crap to require a cargo net and straps to keep it from spilling out of the truck. Yeah, we were rockin' it.

And we could not figure out why our truck wouldn't start.

Dustin laughed and claimed it was because our truck couldn't handle the cold weather.

I blamed it on bad timing.

But every time we started to get worried, Brady would run and get his dad and it would start up just fine. So much for deciding not to misbehave when Mr. Fix It was watching.

So we pull out of Dustin's driveway and begin the long trip home. Next stop. Walsenburg. To stretch our legs and eat lunch in the park.

We drop Daniel, Jean Ann and the two puppies off at the park and drive to the convenience store to buy a bag of chips. And we turned off the truck. Not a good idea.

Apparently, it decided not to start up again. And the rest of our crew were eight blocks away without their cell phones.

So Brady and I start walking down the road in this unknown town to the park to tell them the bad news, and then four people and two dogs walk back the eight blocks to our finicky truck. I go inside to use the bathroom and am interrupted in line to "Hurry up and leave while it's working." Apparently, the truck started right up once Daniel and Jean Ann showed up.

So we jump back in the truck and get on the road with empty stomachs. And Daniel decides to read the owner's manual for fun.

Chapter 1: If your truck does not start, don't freak out. Check your anti-theft device and make sure the batteries aren't dead. If they are, just click the button and your truck will start. Duh!

Wow, whoever wrote this owner's manual was a genius. Apparently Brady's anti-theft device was low on batteries. But Daniel's wasn't. Which is why the truck always started for him as long as he was within 15 feet of our truck.

And we all commented on how cool Daniel was to have "the" magic tool in his pocket.

Ku-Tip: Always keep a magic tool in your pocket for a rainy day. You never know when you will have to use it. Or rely on your father-in-law for his.

426 words.