Sometimes humor can make a difference

I live in the urban center of a major city. Last month, every night for more than a week, a car alarm would go off outside my bedroom window. This intermittent assault to the ears and sleep would repeatedly bless me throughout the entire night, every night for more than a week. I came to recognize the unique cadence of this siren blessing—sort of like every violin in the entire philharmonic orchestra was playing with one less string, and out of tune!

After more than a week of disrupted sleep, I decided to go out in the middle of the night to identify the car that was having some difficulty knowing when it was safe and when it needed to scream bloody murder!

It turns out the intermittent car alarm was being sounded by a beautiful, little SMART car. I can remember thinking, “This one ain’t so smart!!!”

I went back inside wondering how this car owner could not also be hearing this disruption, every night, throughout the entire night. I also wondered how other residents were holding back from taking their frustrations out on the car!

I decided I would write the owner of the car a note and leave it on their windshield, so that they would see the note the next time they stepped into their car. I wanted the note to communicate the nightly disruption caused by the siren and a request to get the alarm system fixed. Here is the note I wrote and placed on the car windshield…

      Dear Owner,

This car’s alarm has been going off repeatedly and intermittently throughout the night and early morning for more than a week. I trust you can appreciate this is very disruptive to the sleep of people in the neighborhood. Is it possible to have the car alarm fixed so that there is no further disturbance during the night?

You are welcome to call me at (telephone number provided) to discussed this matter further.

Sincerely,

Robert

Later that day the car owner called me. In summary, they were upset about my letter above and summarily, and in words tempered for this publication, told me to “Buzz Off!!!”

Another night passed with the repeated but intermittent car alarm keeping me awake. I realized another approach was needed. I thought of simply having the car towed away (at the owners expense), but I decided against it in favor of one more attempt to ask the owner of the car to have the car alarm fixed. This time I thought that using a little humor may be the most effective approach in this situation to get the message across. After a few minutes of deliberation, here is the note I wrote and placed on the car windshield…

HELP!  HELP!!   HELP!!!

Dear owner,

You just have to help me! It’s awful!! Please take me to our local dealership for repair, QUICK!!!

I am having an “ID-10-T car alarm” error! My security system alarm is going off repeatedly and intermittently throughout the night and early morning. And this has been going on for over a week now. Do you know how humiliating it is for a SMART car to be having an ID10T error! I have a reputation to uphold here! Please, get me to a repair shop IMMEDIATELY!!!

The neighbors are coming by and kicking me. Some have threatened to use baseball bats if I don’t get this ID10T car alarm error fixed soon! At minimum the neighbors say they will have me towed away to a compound with other ID10Ts!!! I don’t want to die!!! You just have to help me!!!

Your beloved SMART car (going mad!)

The epilogue? No more car alarm during the night. Perhaps a little humor now and then can make a difference.