“Things Left on Roofs of Cars” by Reva Lachica Moore
As I was pulling out of the church parking lot, I noticed a white car coming through, so I stopped. From my rearview mirror, I noticed books on the roof of the white car. “Oh no! She forgot her books!” I screamed but no one could hear me. I put my car in neutral and got out, thinking I could overtake the moving car, only to see it enter the busy street. Then I saw the book on the car roof open and loose papers started flapping in the wind.
In church the following Sabbath, I learned that the driver of the car had lost her most precious Bible and other important papers.
I’ve seen many things left on roofs of cars. From books to cell phones to very important items. People absentmindedly place things on tops of cars with the intention of retrieving them before they drive off. Drinks are left mostly but these do not usually cause any damage to the car or to the person. But it’s disastrous when the item lost is irreplaceable.
Not long ago I was following a woman who left her purse on the top of her car. I honked my horn to alert her, but she did not stop. The purse fell and through my side mirror I saw a pickup behind me, stop. The truck driver picked up the purse and took off. I hope it was an honest person who found the purse.
Purses, books, drinks are not the only things that are left on car roofs. A friend lost her purse that contained her passport and wallet when she left them on top of a car, and she was in a foreign country.
We used to have a cat that stayed on the roof of our van. There were a few times that we had forgotten about the cat. Once, we found the cat on the top of the van after we reached the church. I had to turn around and take the cat home.
But one day, I forgot to check for the cat as I left for work. As I entered the Interstate, something black jumped out of the roof of my van. I lost our cat that day.
I’ve read about babies on car seats placed on the roofs of cars. Just the thought of this happening brings chills down my spine.
Here is one of them:
In December 1997, Maria Caldwell accidentally left two-month-old Marcus Abram on the roof of her car after putting her 6 and 4-year-old children in the car. She traveled about two blocks before the baby slid off the roof. Caldwell drove another five miles before realizing her mistake. The child, still strapped to the car seat, fell off the roof of the car into a busy intersection with cars whizzing by in all directions. A passing trucker noticed the baby seat, stopped, and rescued the injured infant. The child suffered lacerations to the face and head but not serious.
It’s a bad practice to place things on top of cars anytime. Next time you get tempted to place something on the roof of your car, remember that you could lose something very important.
Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.”