Uncle Roger's Notebooks of Daily Life

New Rule

We have a new rule at our house. We're not allowed to put anything on the roof or bonnet of either vehicle.

It started when I put Sara's little sippy cup of water on the roof while I buckled her into her car seat. I left it there, we drove off, and it's gone. Unfortunately, it was the type of cup that Sara (or, perhaps, Rachel) really likes, and that we've only been able to find at Babies R Us. Naturally, this resulted in trip to Union City to obtain a replacement.

The second incident was a little more serious. We were headed to My Gym for the kids' classes. We pulled out of the alley and turned right. We were just crossing the intersection when Rachel called out "Stop!". Naturally, I stopped. As I did so, I watched in horror as my camera rolled off the bonnet and down the street.

I jumped out and grabbed it out of the gutter. Back in the Rover, I pulled out the camera to assess the damage. First off, the little plastic loop on the side of the lens cap had broken off; the loop was attached to its tether, but the rest of the cap wasn't. Other than that, it looked fine. Mind you, that doesn't say much when you're talking about sensitive electronics and optics.

I turned it on and looked through the viewfinder. All seemed to be well, but the real test would be to take some pictures and get them onto the computer. So we headed off to My Gym where I did take a bunch of pictures. The good news is, the camera seems to be just fine. Although the camera has taken some pretty serious abuse (like a four foot fall onto a cement floor, unprotected) in the past, I suspect a lot of the credit for its survival goes to the case.

But now we have a new rule.