Adventures of Lucy and Ethel, aka Ann and Maryann

Many years ago when my husband worked at EDS, Ross Perot's company, we had some friends named Bill and Maryann. Our children were about the same age so we did a lot of things together.

One day I needed to get the oil changed in my car so I asked Maryann if she wanted to go with me. It was summer time so the kids were out of school. We were probably going to go swimming at the EDS pool later so this made sense. Anyway, I drove to this small auto shop to get the oil changed. The guy told me to park the car in one of the bays and the mechanic would get to it next after he finished the car he was working on. So, that's what I did.

They did not have a waiting room so we all go back into the car to wait until it was time for them to get to my car. We are talking and not really paying attention to anything when, all of a sudden, the car started going up into the air. The guy who was going to change the oil never told us he was ready. He just raised the car up on that big lift while we were still inside.

After I told the kids not to open the door and calmed down, I couldn't decide if I was irritated or that it was funny. Every time we take the car to get the oil changed, I think of the day two adults and four children were stuck inside of a car that was eight feet off the ground and no one in that shop even noticed.

Maryann and Bill moved back to their home state but after a year or so they moved back. We went to pick them up at the airport. When they got off the plane, Maryann and I went to the restroom. At that time, the airport had pay toilets. You had to put a dime into a slot in order to open the door. So, we both put our dimes in, went into the stall and did our business. When it got time for me to open my door, it wouldn't open. It was stuck tight. I was pushing on the inside and Maryann was pulling on the outside. It would not budge. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally decided I would have to crawl out under the door.

As we were leaving the restroom we were both laughing so hard we could barely walk. When Bill saw us he said, "Lucy and Ethel are back at it."