Moving Islands

In the midst of a three-week vacation to Texas and Florida, I decided to engage in a little subversive card test.

Neither my husband nor I informed any of our teen pre paid credit cards (http://www.teenprepaidcreditcards.com/ ) companies of our vacation plans (something we used to do diligently). My mission was to see if and when our account would be flagged and if we would receive the standard prerecorded phone call that there had been a suspicious charge that required our attention.

Truthfully, those phone calls are usually just annoyances, but during my travels I found myself hoping they would help confirm that our card companies are watching out for our best interest.

By Day 7, no such phone calls came through. At that point, we had mainly purchased groceries and restaurant meals. I started to become curious whether certain transactions — such as liquor, lottery tickets or cash advances — would set the alarm bells off, though I don’t typically make those kinds of transactions.

On Day 10, my husband finally received an automated phone call from MasterCard checking to ensure we were the ones making purchases 1,000 miles from home.

By this point, we had raked up hundreds of dollars in transactions, mainly at gas stations and grocery stores. I didn’t venture into a liquor store, but I did buy a few bottles of wine — solely, of course, for the purposes of this experiment.

I can’t help but think of about the pain and frustration involved in discovering this debt, if we were the unlucky victims of a card theft. I guess it is a good reminder to be diligent about canceling cards at the first sign that they come up missing.

Will we notify our card companies of upcoming travels in the future? To be honest, we probably will not. The method of alerting consumers to unusual transactions has become so sophisticated it requires just a few minutes on the phone with an automated system to check into these transactions. Ten years ago, you were liable to get a “hold” placed on your card until you confirmed that you were indeed the one making the charges. A safer scenario, possibly, but a much bigger hassle.

And even though 10 days seems like a long time to wait, there was definitely something comforting about getting that call. Someone is watching out for us.

Now back to the regularly scheduled shopping …

Protection and prevention goes a long way

Finding a gummy worm or collection of worms permanently fused to the rich Corinthian leather of Grandma’s Cordoba, or syrupy soda staining the utilitarian fabric seats of your station wagon is but one of many examples of just what can happen when kids and cars come together. While completely kid-proofing a vehicle against things spilled, hurled, tossed and sprayed is one of those “we can send rockets to the moon, but can’t protect leather seats against gummy worms tasks,” the best bit of advice is this: remember when.

Remember when you were a kid and you stuck a wad of gum under a seat, or wondered what would happen if you took the lid off that giant soda while the car was moving to and fro? Of course you do! The best way to kid-proof a vehicle is to think like a kid then add your hopefully vast knowledge gleaned as an adult. With the memories of the road disappearing into the distance as you watched from the kid seat in the Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon fresh in your head, let the future of kid-proofing commence!
Stop Asking for Trouble

The best way to protect against vehicular incidents involving kids and melted chewy candy is with prevention and realism. Remember the words of your Dad as you tried to climb into the Oldsmobile with that corn dog from the fair swimming in a paper bag full of bright yellow mustard. “Not in my car!” or something less succinct in the universal language of Dads and yellow mustard when it comes to clean vehicle interiors. This advice continues into the modern age. Preventing accidents from happening in the first place will save cleanup in the long run.

A net or cage to hold kid supplies and jars of yellow mustard safely out of the reach of curious fingers will help to prevent multicolored interiors. If the combination of food, drink and travel with kids is unavoidable then choose non-staining car-friendly foodstuffs. If the little ones are still little enough to be looking out the rear window while riding in their car seats, install smaller rear-view mirrors made specifically to provide a few of impending disasters in the backseat before they strike. All measure of prevention will never prevent kids from being kids. Accidents will inevitably happen.
Space-Age Polymers

To protect against these inevitable mishaps, think again of rockets to the moon. To re-enter the earth’s atmosphere, space vehicles must have a protective shield. You too can install such shields to protect against the re-entry of a spilled soda or adhesion of gummy worms into the foam cushions of the seats and onto the carpets on the floor. Inexpensive seat covers and floor mats are a good defense against spills and stains or expensive stain removal bills. Better cheap seat covers get ruined than Grandma’s rich Corinthian leather. In case of accidents or intentional spillage, merely peel off and replace the offending seat cover or floor mat.

Further protection can come by way space-age polymers. Any good parts house will sell a guard type spray that sets up an invisible barrier to temporarily repel kid shenanigans. These polymers work much in the same way that a layer of wax protects paint. Using both of these methods are but two options. The final solution in case of accidents is emergency readiness. A quick cleanup at a chico car wash will prevent the accident from becoming a permanent memory. Pack an arsenal of extra supplies at all times. Paper towels, baby wipes, spare outfits, water, and some plastic bags are a few of the supplies required for kids and cars. Prevention and protection will lead to happy motoring for everybody.