We don’t think of these two things unless something goes wrong. And that’s the worst time to figure them out.

The first is where your spare tire is (if you have one) and where the jack is. You should not only locate the spare, but get it out at least once as it might not be as easy as it appears. For example, on my Gladiator, it’s underneath the truck bed. Seems easy right? Except you have to thread the handle for the jack into a hole between the rear bumper and the truck body in order to lower it. Hard enough on a warm sunny day. Really tough to figure out on a rainy, dark night.

The second is a new one for me as I’ve usually driven standard shift. How do you put your electronic automatic transmission in neutral if your engine is dead? You would need this if you car dies in the middle of traffic and needs to be pushed out of that way or it you need to be towed. You just can’t jam the automatic transmission into neutral. It’s different on almost every model. On my Gladiator and most Jeeps, there’s a small cover in front of the shifter. You pop that and pull the red loop toward the driver’s side. To re-engage, you pull the loop again. On an Audi, it’s very different. There’s a tool with your jack in the back that’s a red handle. You lift the driver’s side floor mat and there’s a little door there. Lift it. Push the tool in. Turn 90 degrees and you unlock the transmission. So, go look this up for the year and model vehicle you drive now, before you’re the one blocking traffic and no one can get your car out of the way!

And, bonus, third, if you’re driving someone else’s car, or a rental, to know which side the gas cap is on, look at the fuel gauge and there’s a small arrow pointing to that side.

I’ve got two of these in Life’s Little Black Book and I will be adding the third to the next edition.

BTW, The New York City Little Black Book has been getting a lot of attention lately.

Turn it up to eleven, people!