Be like John Lennon and Imagine.  It’s easy if you try.  

This Wednesday (today) morning about 10:30, I grabbed a crew of sophomore boys and headed south of Shattuck to pick up some equipment.  On the way back to town, the “fasten seat belt” light kept coming on and dinging.  I told the co-pilot to buckle his seat belt.

      Startled, he replied, “Mr. Kelln, we are on the highway!  My seat belt is buckled.”  I said, “Undo it and re’click it.”  

Light still on. 

That meant it was my seat belt but people, like always, I was fastened in.  

We got to the ag building and the boys jumped out to start unloading the equipment.  I wanted to get out but couldn’t.  The seat belt would not release.  I was trapped.

       No kidding.  Couldn’t get out.  A 2020 model pickup and the seat belt had me locked in.  I pushed the red button repeatedly.  I pulled on the belt.  I turned the pickup off.  Then re-started it.  I put my foot on the brake.  I put it in gear and then back in park–all while pushing the red button.  I opened the door, turned up the radio, held my head sideways and my tongue out–and kept pushing the red release button.  I made sure that I wasn’t plugged in to the wrong seat belt.  I dug my phone out of my front pocket and called THE Rob Magness.  He is the service manager for Jess Wales Chevrolet.  He had never heard of this problem but would order me a new seat belt receptacle.  

       Dang!  Now I have got to figure out how to get out of this thing.  I kicked the door open, pulled the belt out as far as I could and then try to unfold.  I’m only 5’10” according to my license.  But with a bad right hip and worse right knee combined with bad angles of being in a drivers seat–well, I was tangled up like a pile of coat hangers.  I had an Ecco shoe hung up on the side of the seat belt and my head/neck tangled up in the rest.  A sophomore boy came out of the ag building and I hollered “Get over here and help me.”  Good kid.  He pulled one side of the belt so that I could duck my head under and around it.  Now I could get the opposite leg out.  Like William Wallace, I felt FREEEEEEDOM!!!  

         There was one saving grace.  Can you guess it?  Nobody videoed it.  Witnesses….yes.  In today’s society, hunh?!? No video!  Imagine that….if you can?  You can’t make this stuff up. 

On a side note.  Many consider “Imagine” by John Lennon to be the best song of all time.  My opinion– no.  Great song, yes.  Best ever–no.  Happy Birthday has brought more cheer than any other song ever.   And “Amazing Grace” is so good on so many different levels and styles.