Oct 26, 2021
Image: 1955 Oldsmobile 88 Holiday 4 door Sedan - oldcarsweekly.com
It was nearing Halloween and I just couldn't get in the mood. My grandmother and I had worked on my one son's costume and it looked great, but I had no idea what to make for my youngest. I'd had to drive into town and look at what was in the stores to see if something clicked so we could put it on him but nothing satisfied.
Ahhh, the wonderful feeling of finally having a car to drive. I'd depended on my uncle to take me shopping for four months and it was inconvenient. He was a lovely man, but he only went shopping on Tuesdays and with two small children, you could run out of stuff a whole lot sooner. Now I had my own car, a turquoise and white 1955 Oldsmobile Holiday sedan, sitting out in the driveway and I was content, even if that Halloween costume was bugging me.
Around 11:30 PM I heard the neighbor start his car and it struck me that it was way too early for him to be going to work at the dairy. I couldn't see any lights on at their house and figured he might be going out for milk or maybe a prescription for one of the kids. I put it out of my mind and went back to watching TV.
A short while later I heard their car start again... odd. I went to the kitchen window and looked at their house more intently. No lights, no activity, nothing. Then the car shut off.
After about the fourth time I heard the car start, I got curious and a little uncomfortable. I sat, with the volume down, and heard the car start again, but it was closer now. Unfortunately, the curve of the road in front of the house and the rocky hills across the street made it impossible to figure out the direction of the sounds. I turned on the outside light and left the kitchen light on, too.
Once more the engine turned over and caught and I could hear the engine running. I walked into my bedroom and realized I could hear it louder. It was on my side of the house, in my driveway! Now I was upset.
Foolishly I opened the front door only to hear the engine shut off. "It's okay," I spoke loudly, "I'm going to get my sweater out of the car and lock the gate." I pretended there was another adult in the house with me instead of two sleeping toddlers. I had my bright flashlight and shined it in every direction. I walked smartly up to the car, checked inside, locked it and locked the very tall gate at the end of the driveway. I turned around and calmly went back inside bolting the door behind me.
I guess I had dozed off with the TV still on when I heard the car start yet again! I was too angry to be afraid and ran to look out the window. The gate was still locked but the car was running! What was going on??
Grabbing my keys, I went outside with blazing flashlight in hand. No one was in the yard that I could see and the car was running. I walked over, unlocked it, put the key in the ignition, turned it to the "on" position then to "off" and the car stopped running. Still angry, I relocked the car and went back inside.
One, two, three times the car started again, ran for a minute or two then shut itself off. I went out and shut it off twice, but the third time it shut itself off. I couldn't take it anymore and called the town police. The officer who answered told me I lived outside their jurisdiction, that I was outside the incorporated city limits, whatever that was, and I guess I yelled at the poor man. "I'll connect you to the Sheriff, honey, hang on!" he said hastily. I don't know if I was more annoyed at the "honey" or relieved that I didn't have to fumble to dial another number. As I was being connected, the darned car started AGAIN.
It took forever for the two Deputies to arrive. I saw their high intensity search lights and ran outside. I struggled to unlock the chain from the gate and recounted what had been going on as I did so. I guess they figured I was some sort of nut who couldn't sleep because they walked over to the car and looked it over wanting to leave. The car obliged by starting once more.
We all looked at each other and no one said a thing. Then they walked closer to the car and tried the door handles. Once they were convinced the car was locked, one of them addressed me. "Ma'am, would you please unlock the car and get in?" Suddenly he was very courteous and just a bit skittish. I opened the car window and did as he asked. "Can you turn it off, Ma'am, please?" he asked. I put the key into the ignition and repeated the "on" then "off" maneuver and the engine went quiet.
"Uh, Ma'am, may I please have the keys?" he asked me in a strange voice. I removed the keys, held them over his outstretched hand and proceeded to drop them into it. And at that very moment, before they even had a chance to travel the short distance and hit his palm, the darned engine turned over and started.
I jumped, he jumped, his partner on the other side of the car jumped.
He handed me the keys, asked me to turn the engine off again and they both headed for the hood of the car. I pulled the hood release and they lifted it gingerly. They reached in, sniffed to see if there were any burning wires. Nothing. Finally, they disconnected both battery terminals and closed the heavy hood. The echo was deafening in the silence of the night.
"That's all we can do for you, Ma'am. Sorry…" But they did walk around the house to make sure no one was hiding in the bottlebrush bushes or behind the eucalyptus trees. They were polite and told me to call again if anything happened, but they really looked as if they wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
They left, I relocked the gate then the car and went inside to get ready for bed after my night's adventure. As I brushed my teeth, I mused about the proximity of Halloween for a moment then it hit me... the nickname for the area where I lived... "Spook's Canyon!"
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