Kristina Bornholtz
News editor

Getting a knock on your car window in the dark of night is scary.

Scarier still is when that person knocking on your window is a friend, and that friend is desperately asking for help. It was raining and her car had died, and not a single one of us knew what to do – not a single one of us knew how to jump a car off the top of our heads.

What we did know was to not touch those clips together, otherwise something bad would happen – what that bad thing is, I’m not sure. Keeping the clips a safe distance apart became my job as Jessie took instructions from her dad over the phone, and Anna tried to explain the situation to her dad in the same way. The whole time, I am thinking about how happy I am that we were still in the parking lot to help Anna get her car started, and that help was just a phone call away.

As much as we can hem and haw about how technology interferes with our lives and how we rely on it too heavily, in this situation – in an empty parking lot, in the rain, at night – we were able to get the answers we needed to get Anna’s car back on the road.

In a different time, we may have been waiting there for a long time, hoping for someone to walk past and give us a hand. Thanks to technology, we have the resources to be quick on our feet and figure things out as they occur or, if all else fails, call Dad for help.

Courtney Kueppers
Managing editor

This night had it all: rain, cold, a dead cellphone and a dead car. Luckily, it also included good pals.

As the four of us stood there searching for jumper cables beneath Jessie’s array of camping equipment I couldn’t help but think maybe dear ole Mom and Dad were wise in getting me that car kit for Christmas last year. You know, one of those handy dandy little bags, which includes jumper cables but also ridiculous things like a safety vest and cones?

However, in typical fashion we weren’t in my vehicle when it could have been helpful. To date the only time I have used the contents of the pack, which could probably get you through a zombie apocalypse, was to scrape snow and ice off my windshield with the bright green metal shovel it includes.

I did this for two reasons: first, because I am perpetually running five minutes late, which allows no time for defrost to work and second, because my actual scraper is very broken. However, using the bright green shovel, which is typically only useful for being annoying when I go around a turn too fast and it shifts to the other side of my backseat, resulted in a lot of scratches on my windshield (Yes dad, that is how they got there, I’m sorry.)

Anyhow, the car survival kit: logical Christmas present, which has yet to be used for a logical reason and this recent night was no exception. Someday.

Anna Mateffy
Photo editor

I know minimal things about cars, and by minimal, I mean I know how to check my oil.

So you can imagine the immediate dread that filled my mind when my dear 2001 Gallant named The Millennium Falcon wouldn’t start that night. I was in the Hibbard Humanites Hall parking lot, so I knew I had to move it or get a parking ticket the next day; never mind the rain and my battery-depleted cell phone.

Thankfully, I knew my pals had yet to leave. After trying the key a few more times, I booked it over to their car and pleaded my case. The only problem was none of us knew what to do with a dead battery.

After directions from Jessie’s dad, she successfully jumped the battery. Hugs ensued and we realized we had achieved something as a group: we took a step toward becoming even more independent.

To let the battery charge, you have to keep your car running, so I took a bit of a drive around Eau Claire and pondered the event.

Maybe jumping The Falcon is the start of a new chapter in our lives. We are graduating between three months and a year and a half from now; we need to learn this type of skill to be able to succeed after college, or at least to be able to start our cars the next time this happens.

Jessie Tremmel
Op/Ed editor

Red on her car, red on mine. Black on my car, be careful not to let the clips touch, the other black on metal. After hooking the jumper cables up using only the light of an iPhone, the next step is to start my car and then try to start her car. This is when we cross our fingers and hope I attached everything correctly and nothing explodes. Luckily, I connected everything right. Daddy Tremmel comes to the rescue, teaching his little girl to be independent.