I used the remote to unlock the doors on the way back to the car. Just as I leaned over to open the door, I heard something fall through the storm drain directly below — some piece of garbage I had accidentally kicked, I assumed. That is, until I sat down in the car and realized my key chain was lighter than usual. The situation came sharply into focus as I discovered that my car key and remote were missing from the keyring. They had fallen off at the most inopportune moment: just as I was stepping over the grate covering the drain.

I got out of the car and stared in disbelief down the drain — how in the world had I managed to do this?? Looking around, I realized that no one was going to take an interest in my situation unless I specifically sought out some help, so I took a deep breath and reassessed my problem. I looked into the drain and realized that I could see to the bottom. It was very far down, but thanks to the streetlight directly overhead I could see my keys! Now I just needed to figure out how to get them out. I surveyed the stores in the shopping plaza: Starbucks; Michael’s; Chipotle; Bed, Bath and Beyond; GameStop; 5 Below; Pier 1 Imports and more. Surely I could come up with something to retrieve my keys with this array of options! And if not, I could at least get a Frappucino.

I headed towards BB&B, called Ken, and sheepishly told him what had happened. He was supportive about my plan to fish the keys out of the drain, but ended our conversation with, “Be careful: you’ve got to get this right on the first try. If you push those keys out of view, they’re gone.” No pressure.

I started out buying a flag pole, but it was too short. The drain was almost 10 ft. deep! I headed back to BB&B and returned the pole in exchange for a hi-reach duster.

A sweet cashier who made the mistake of asking me how I was doing tonight provided me with some packing tape. I was hoping for duct tape — you can do anything with duct tape! — but couldn’t find any; I had to settle for packing tape.

I browsed through a few of the other stores, looking for inspiration. I didn’t find much of anything, so I headed back to the car with my duster. It was a perfect length and fit through the top of the grate. Now all I needed was a way to snag the keys. I hadn’t been able to find a wire hanger in any of the stores, and I was considering going back to Michael’s to get some craft wire. After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that part of the binding on one of my NJ maps would do nicely. I broke a piece off and taped it to the end of the pole.

You’ll have to use your imagination to see the final product.

I lowered the pole into the drain, carefully looped the keys onto the end and turned it a few times to ensure they were secured. As I pulled the pole up, I couldn’t believe I had gotten them on the first try! The euphoria was great, and I turned to no one in particular and cheered as I held my keys in the air — it was a great feeling. I wouldn’t have to take the train, and I would be home in time to nurse Dahlia when she woke up around midnight!

I called Ken to tell him the good news. When he answered the phone, I said, “Got ‘em!!”. He asked, “How?” I know it didn’t take that much ingenuity to do what I did, but I couldn’t resist saying, “McGyver style!”