The reality that I'm never going to find this key starts to sink in. I can't even reliably find the two spots I sat down. Yeah, I panic a little bit at this point, but breathe it off, and start looking for solutions. My mind is open, combing the sands for something that will afford me the necessary stiffness. A little piece of bamboo catches my eye, and a pen. Maybe I can put them around the wire somehow, and keep it from bending. I pick them up and take them with me.
I find another item on the ground. It's some kind of black tube, slightly flexible, and about two feet in length. At this time, I believe this is going to be Key Item #2. I immediately put it around my coat hanger, which now has a bit of bamboo on the end with a pen sticking out of it, and head back, picking up a couple more thin sticks to put in the tube next to the coat hanger, for additional reinforcement. I also find a spoon, which I put in my pocket. Just a regular old spoon. Unbeknownst to me, this was to be Key Item #3.
I'm back at my car, just fiddling with this stick/tube/pen/coat hanger contraption I made. It just about reaches the button, and does with a little bit of extra wiggling. I notice it depresses slightly. A glimmer of hope. I keep going at this for quite some time, but it's just not quite doing it, the bamboo keeps sliding off the button, and my hand keeps getting caught under the sun roof protector. At this point, I think if I can modify the bamboo somehow, It will become a better pusher. I remove the whole thing from this 5/8" gap I've left open in the sunroof, and take a look at it. I push it against the ground to test its strength, and it snaps. This is a low point. This plan is just not going to work.
I fix up the stick with the pen, but it's not as stable as it was before. Once I get it in the car, it's not the right length or angle, and it's just not happening. Frequent breathing breaks are becoming necessary. Just take a breath, and calm down.
I think that maybe if I get the sunroof visor thing off, life will be easier. The only thing is, it's got a phillips head screw on it, and palm tree pieces don't make very good screwdrivers. There are also finger tighteners on the underside, but I can't get a grip on them because of the small space. I try using the spoon. A spoon is a crappy approximation of a phillips head screwdriver. This takes enormous patience and concentration. This is something I should have been mentioning. Everything is taking enormous patience and concentration. I have to use extreme care not to drop my tools into the car, where they would be inaccessible, and the smallest movement on the end of my coat hanger really makes a big difference at the business end. After some serious spoon work, the visor is removed. Yes.
It is way easier to get the coat hanger contraption in through the gap. Which is something I'm extremely happy about. However, pushing is just not going to work. There is no way to put enough force on this curved thing to get the door to open. Bummer.
Then it hits me. My keys are in the glove box. If I can just get it open by pulling the little lever, I can fish out my keys, and be in the good. So I take out my contraption, use the spoon to put a little bend in the end, and shimmy it back in. The bend isn't quite right. Fish out... adjust, fish in... still not right, more adjustments. Then... Sweet success! The angle is just right, and it pops open, exposing the keys! My wallet is to the right of them, and my iPod cord is behind them, sticking up slightly.
My wallet, which is precariously half and half in and out of the glove box, topples out easily when I push it. Good, more room to get around the keys. Hooking the iPod cord, I jiggle it slightly, which moves the keys into grabbing range. Right on the edge.
It's moment of truth time... so close. I remove my tool. I need to be sure that the hook, once on the keys, will not let them go. I put a good bend in it, and sink it back into the car. It's like brain surgery. With a little skillful manipulation, they're hooked, and slowly, I draw them out up to the sunroof, and yank them free with my hands.
Oh, I let out such a victory yell, that lady on the balcony must have dropped her poodles. I was in! I stood there for for a couple minutes with this huge grin on my face, just locking and unlocking the door. Three and a half hours, numerous setbacks, and some decent sunburn later, and I was in.
This is it... This weird looking this was the product of a strong intention, a refusal to get stuck, a flexible mindset, and what we call "Going to McDonalds". I had arrived, and the burgers were sweet.Afterword:
Going to McDonalds... I mentioned that there were numerous "setbacks" along my way. These all happened when it became apparent that a plan I had just wasn't going to work. Setback may be the wrong word though, because I was always going forwards. Learning. These setbacks were all guiding me to "the right plan" The one that eventually accomplished my intention. Like we say in Wujifa, the roadblocks just show you which way to go.
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