This is what I hear.
A car door slams shut, then a few moments later, slams shut again.This repeats over
and over until I have the clear impression that it is not the same door being slammed
shut, but it is the same car which is having its doors opened and then slammed shut.
Almost a dozen or so times the doors on the car are opened and shut. This little
pantomime occurs at least once a week, sometimes more.
What happens is something like this.
My father, who is mostly blind and mostly deaf, takes the picnic basket out to the car,
opens the passenger-side rear door, places the basket on the back seat and slams the
door shut. He then walks back to the house to gather up the picnic blanket and walks
back out to the car. He opens the driver-side rear door, places the blanket on the back
seat and slams the door shut. He walks back to the house with the intention of collecting
the thermos flask to take out to the car but cannot find it. He walks around the house for
a few moments looking for the flask and then decides to go look in the car. He walks out
to the car, opens the driver-side rear door and looks down at the back seat and does not
see the flask. He slams to door shut, walks around to the passenger-side rear door, opens
it, sees the flask lying on the back seat between the picnic basket and the door. He slams
the doors shut, happy that he has found the flask and it is now in the car. When he gets
back inside, my mother, who still has a good grasp of her faculties and beetles around
the house doing two things at once on a slow day, and more on a “good” day, asks my
father if he has seen the thermos flask. She can’t find it and she hasn’t yet filled it with
coffee for the picnic. Dad exclaims that he just took it out to the car, although he didn’t
realise that he was taking it out to the car at the time, and goes out to the car to get the
flask. He opens the passenger-side rear door, picks up the flask, slams the door and walks
back into the house with the flask. He gives it to my mother who asks my father if he would
mind checking that the driver's seat is adjusted to suit her (as she will be driving). My
father walks out to the car, opens the driver’s door, checks that everything is as it should
be, then slams the door and walks back to the house. He tells my mother that the seat is
set as she hands him the thermos flask. My father walks back out to the car, opens the
passenger-side rear door and places the flask on the back seat between the picnic
basket and the door. He slams the door shut and walks back into the house. A few
moments later, my mother, now having her coat, scarf and walking stick with her, comes
out of the house with my father following. He opens the driver’s door for my mother and
helps her into the car. Once she is comfortable behind the wheel, he slams the door
shut, walks around the to other side of the car, opens the passenger door, climbs in and
slams the door shut. My mother asks my father if he remembered to lock the front door
as she did not see him do it. He opens the passenger door, climbs out, slams the door
shut, walks to the house, checks that the front door is locked, finds that it isn’t locked,
walks back to the car, opens the passenger door, leans in and collects his keys,
straightens up, slams the door shut, walks back to the house, locks the front door using
his key, walks back to the car, opens his door, climbs back in and slams the door shut.
My mother starts the car and they drive off.
A few minutes later, they return back into the driveway and stop. While the car is idling,
my father gets out of the car, slams the door shut, walks to the house, opens the front
door, disappears inside for a moment, returning with my mother's purse, closes the front
door to the house, locks it with his key, walks to the car, opens the passenger door, gets
in, and slams the door shut.
Finally they drive off.
