The "Larry Was In An Accident!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Trying to line up an automobile for our upcoming vacation with our friends Jerry and Just Sue.  Two weeks in paradise is always more enjoyable if we can do some exploring for a few days.  I checked a few places online and then decided that the place we rented from when we traveled to the same location before was a good choice.  Scooter Bob's gave us a good price which included all the taxes, drivers permit and insurance.  They did want me to confirm the reservation online and give them my credit card number.  The confirmation was fine, but I saw that they didn't have a secure web site, so I notified them that I wasn't comfortable giving them my card number online.  The next day I got a thank you from them and a phone number to call with my credit card number.  OK, that I can do.  Person who I was to ask for was named Yan.  No idea if it was a man or woman, but I made the call.  Rang a couple of times and this young girl answered with, "Hi, Scooter Bobs."  I was talking to Yan.  She recognized my name right away and after we talked about the weather and the island, I gave her my credit card number.  We made arrangements for me to call her the day before we wanted the car and they would pick me up at the resort, take me to the rental place to sign the papers, and I was set to go.  We got to talking about changes that had happened since the last time we had visited.  I asked if the bait shop was still next to them, along the waterfront.  Yep, Master Baits was still there.  Hey, I'm not kidding you when I give you the name of the place.  I bought a hat when I was there last time and was embarrassed to wear it when I got home, so I gave it to my son who thought it was "cool."  We talked about the type of car we would get and I asked her if they still had names on the cars.  She said that they only put names on them if we pick them up at the airport.  Put your name on a piece of paper and place it on the windshield with the keys in the glove box.  "No, that's not what I mean," I said.  "The last time we rented from you the cars actually had names hand-lettered on the front of the hood."  Then there was silence on her part.  Finally she laughed and said, "Now I get it.  No, I'm sorry, Larry was in an accident and didn't survive."  See, the time when Jerry and I went to pick up the car we were given "Charlie" for our car.  Thought it was neat until, as we were leaving the parking lot, I saw "Larry" printed across the front of the car.  Just had to have that one.  We went back to the office and asked for "Larry" instead.  No problem, and when we got back you should have seen the looks on the girls faces when we told them we brought Larry back with us.  I know, you had to be there!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

LDub sitting on "Larry".  I have my friend Jerry locked in the car with the window down