Sticky Sitch . . .

"Spit your gum where you are least likely to step in it." ~ Paige Leigh Smock

A long time ago, like literally two decades (forever, for the youngsters), I had a beautiful white Camaro Z-28. It had T-tops that were almost always stowed in the trunk because I couldn't get enough of the fresh crisp air. I put roughly 37,000 miles on that car in one year, really just driving around in circles. At the time, it was the only way to stop myself from tirelessly driving circles round my mind because I had just been through some pretty serious stuff.


I had a ritual; I would stop for gas on my way out of town and would stock myself up for the long drive to nowhere. There was a spot next to me in my cupholder for a Snapple Pink Lemonade (and a backup bottle) & also a fresh pack of Extra gum (bright pink strawberry flavor ~ discontinued now).


Why is this pertinent? Well, it's not so much the Snapple, as it is the gum. I was on the road for such long periods of time, mostly on freeways or highways, places that would allow me to just stay in motion, thus I didn't really stop. I was a chain-gum-chewer. When I had finally sucked the flavor life out of my gum, I would tip my head back and launch it right out of the open T-tops like its own ejection seat from my mouth (but duh, not if they were closed!).


I babied that car; sometimes twice per week, it would get a thorough detail. It was during my labor of love that I started noticing rainbow webs of gum spanning the back of the car, near the rear wheels--and sometimes along the sides as well. I was so vexed! People could be so careless! And I was the one who was paying the price for their laziness or lack of thought . . . until I realized that I was such a hypocrite! How many miles of rubber had I blobbed on the road for other people to drive through? How many sticky webs had I woven just so someone else could drive through them, then spend their Saturday scrubbing away at my Strawberry Extra-thoughtlessness?


I made a decision that day. I would still continue to chew my strawberry flavored rubberized confection, but I would always save the wrapper so I had somewhere to to stow the flavorless leftovers. And you know what? (Knock on wood.) I have not had gum on my car even once since I decided to be considerate of others.

Call it kharma if you will but I'm a true believer that most often you will get back what you give . . . even if it takes a while to figure out who you're giving it to . . . .

My deepest apologies for anyone who routinely drove the 5, 405, 101, 118, and 1 freeways and highways during 1994-1995. If you somehow ended up with a strip of bright pink gum along your car, most likely it was my fault. Email me for a free carwash*!

(* proof required for carwash)