Sometime around the middle of November the battery in my car key fob died. No biggie was my first thought. Even though I had spent years pushing a button to unlock my car I started out in the day when unlocking a vehicle meant inserting a carved metal stick into a key hole. In fact, each car had two metal sticks (keys to you), one to open the doors and trunk, one to negotiate the options on the ignition cylinder. In fact in fact, if you didn’t negotiate the cylinder all the way to “lock” but stopped at the “off” position you could get a way to working the ignition switch with just your fingers. Far out (as we were sometimes known to say).

Still, it is convenient to push that button as you approach the car and have the door unlocked at your arrival. Some actually open the doors for you. My vehicle is approaching its teen years and merely locks and unlocks on command. Oh, but wait. It also starts on demand, a welcome option on cold, winter days when I prefer to rush from front door of warm, toasty living room to front door of toasty, warm driving room. Hmm. The fob had taken on more significance.

Certainly the fob battery could be replaced. Batteries in all sorts of battery powered accessories lose their battery power every day, and every day batteries are replaced. There are retail establishments dedicated just to replacing batteries (bulbs too I hear) but apparently not key fob batteries. Certainly the fob could be replaced. And indeed a new fob for the old car could. For about 50% of the cost of a new fob that comes with a new car I could get a new fob for my old car which comes to about 150% of the current value of the old car. Oh well, I know how to work a car key as a key and the doors unlock just as well that way. One at a time but I only go in one door at a time so that still works.

That’s when I had my epiphany! Umm, epiphany with a lower case “e” as in “ah ha!” not the upper case “E” holiday we just observed. So… when I purchased the vehicle it came with two sets of key and fob. Since there had been only one of me since the purchase date that meant there was still a fob out there with unpressed buttons and therefore, based on my limited knowledge of battery power, quite nearly a full charge (quite near fully charged?). But where?

A search back around the middle of November proved fruitless. Then, you’ll recall, I had a series of medical issues requiring several emergency room visits and outpatient procedures, the holidays were on the horizon, and a powerless key fob lost much of its clout.

To make a long story short (all together now — too late!), today while I was transforming the living room from Christmasville to regular old Winter Wonderland and was looking for an unbent paperclip in a seldom used cubby in the old roll top, I found the second key and fob set!

I knew la Befana wouldn’t let me down!