You may have that friend, or a strange cousin named Booger Ray, who has more miscellaneous junk than a neighborhood hardware store, all piled high inside his favorite mode of transportation. If their vehicle looks like that, can you imagine how their house must look? We may be afraid to visit for fear we might appear on an upcoming episode of “Hoarders.” I think this strange habit begins on the dash. The dash is an easy and convenient place to throw things when we get in the vehicle. Please be careful. Before long, the dash piles up and the overflow spills over into the rest of the vehicle, until you have to post a “No dumping” sign on the windows. Small children and pets have been known to come up missing in such vehicles.
Have you recently noticed vehicles with rubber duckies sitting on the dash? This is a different matter altogether than your friend or cousin’s thing. This unusual but popular craze is sometimes referred to as, “Duck, Duck, Jeep.” It should not be confused with the children’s game called, “Duck, Duck, Goose.” Now, before you go out and buy yourself a few rubber ducks and place them on the dashboard of your F-150, you need to be advised that this is not permissible. There are a few ground rules you must follow. First, not just any vehicle will do. It must be a Jeep. Jeep owners are a close-knit fraternal group that usually does not wish to be confused with pickup truck owners, SUV owners and certainly not sedan owners. Some more liberal Jeepers will wave to truck owners if the truck tires are big enough.
It does not matter, as I understand it, what kind of Jeep you own or what color it is, but the previously mentioned vehicles are not allowed to participate. Also, you do not under any circumstances place said ducks in your own Jeep. That would be akin to buying your own Christmas or birthday presents. It simply is not done. These ducks are goodwill gifts that are to be given to someone else as a gesture of fraternal friendship.
Although the most common color for rubber ducks is yellow, your “Duck, Duck, Jeep Duck” may be any color. Just be sure that you don’t take someone’s else’s rubber ducky from their Jeep and never, under any circumstance, take one from someone’s bathtub. There is a commandment against such…not to mention laws. Go buy your own. Pay for it with your own money, and place it on a stranger’s Jeep. If the Jeep is open, place it on the dash, but if not, just leave it on the hood. The Jeep owner is more likely to see your gift there than if you leave it on the roof where it can easily blow off as the driver heads down the road. Rubber ducks, unlike real ducks, cannot fly. You may write a message on the bottom of the duck, or write one on a piece of paper and attach it to the duck. Your receiver will be glad to add your gift to their flock of dash ducks and your act of kindness will move your recipient to reciprocate.
I don’t own a Jeep, but I do own an SUV. I know, I know, but I’m too old to climb in and out of a Jeep. Maybe we SUV owners could hang those foam dice from our rearview mirrors. Wait, you may not remember it, but I think that one has already been done. Maybe we could just leave a copy of Southern Living on their dash…or better yet, a Bible.
Bill King can be reached at bkpreach@yahoo.com or 334-728-5514 (office).
