Friday, October 30, 2009

Turn Off The Lights

Today was yet another rainy, gloomy day. It was less than conducive for running errands, but I couldn't put them off anymore. At my last stop, I pulled into a strip mall parking lot and parked next to an older sedan. There was no one in it, but the lights were still on.

I know that a lot of late-model cars have automatic headlight shut off systems, but this car didn't look new enough to have the fancy technology. There was no way to tell which store the driver was in, so I couldn't track them down and let them know about the problem.

I've accidentally left my car lights on before...once long enough to drain the battery. It's no fun to get in your car, turn the key, and get nothing but a clicking noise. I looked through the window at the car's dashboard and saw the light switch on the left side of the steering wheel. It would be easy to reach in to turn it off and save the person from any inconvenience.

I debated what I should do. The car might have an alarm; what would I do if I set it off? After thinking about it for a bit, I decided to take my chances. With trepidation, I opened up the door of the car.

No sirens started wailing, so I quickly turned the lights knob to the "off" position and closed the door. I looked around to make sure no one was watching me. I'd hate to perform a random act of kindness, only to have someone call the police because they thought I was breaking into the car!

If the shoe was on the other foot, I'd be happy if someone did this for me

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