That’s contents, not content’s - sorry. :smack:
Just to point out that only “No gentleman can fail to admire Bellini” is attributable to Auden (it’s attributed to him in an essay, “Friday Nights”, written by Orlan Fox for a tribute to Auden edited by Stephen Spender (“WH Auden: A Tribute”, 1974). The passage as a whole seems to come from a essay called “Notes on Class” by Paul Fussell, which can be found in his “The Boy Scout Handbook and Other Observations”, reprinted in various other places.
Fussell’s essay was first published in New Republic, 19 July 1980.
I know this is an old thread but no zombies yet.
I grew up in the post war period when we were still expected to stand up for a lady, but resented it; and would never dream of eating anything in the street.
I can’t remember my father actually sitting me down and telling me anything much, except maybe “Never chase a woman; like buses, there will always be another one soon.”
As far as cars were concerned, he taught me how to deal with a flooded engine, how to change gear without using the clutch and the proper way to be towed on a rope. We had a rather unreliable car for a while. We are blessed in this country, having the 1" Ordnance Survey maps, which show all those tiny country lanes and secret beaches. From this, my family in the 80s/90s never considered it a ‘proper’ holiday unless we drove down a road with grass in the middle. Navigating is a great game to keep children amused on a drive.
Neither he nor I were ever mechanics, so tools were basic; a block of wood, is essential (you can use it to free a stuck starter motor, or to rest the jack on when changing a wheel on poor ground, plus screwdrivers and pliers ets, and a roll of insulating tape. These days a pack of cable ties is also a requirement. I too have never kept gloves in the glove compartment (an item left over from horse and carriage days), but documents and maps (satnavs are not yet 100%) and the key for the locking wheel nuts are permanent residents. Gloves live in a door pocket; one never knows when they will be handy.
The horror of the melted chocolate bar in the glove compartment comes from an old Jean Shepherd story. :eek:
Reminds me of the time my brother was eating a Mars Bar while driving on a hot day. He had to make a fast gearshift and forgot that he had the sticky chocolate and caramel bar in his hand. 
This is better suited to IMHO. Please note the original thread was started in 2004.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I got out of the habit of putting anything in the glove compartment, when car styling reduced the size of the compartment so small you couldn’t even squeeze a pair of gloves in there. Luckily, at about the same time, they started putting pouches in the front doors, which filled up with things that got soaked every time you opened the car door when it was raining.
The worst was my '88 Camry, where there was no place to put anything. The glove compartment was barely big enough for toll change, the cowl sloped so you couldn’t put anything there, the shift lever and handbrake occupied the entire top of the center console. Upon recollection, I’m not sure there was even a cup-holder anywhere. I kept the registration and insurance in the ashtray.
I think if I ever owned a car-making factory, and I was hiring designers, the first thing I would ask them is “Have you ever driven or ridden in a car?”
I know this is a zombie. But I find this thread fascinating.
My reactions:
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The idea that there is one way to do things and that’s the way you should do it is the easiest way to get me to not do it that way. If you can’t back your “right way” up with rational, articulable support, I’m going to ignore you.
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The guy who thinks his wife shouldn’t have some say in what she think should go in the glove compartment is a dick.
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This is what I put in my glove compartment —
- envelopes and stamps
- pens
- hand sanitizer
- tire pressure gauge
- flashlights and batteries
- emergency glass smashing hammer
Car registration, proof of insurance, etc. goes in the leather pouch that I keep in the driver’s door storage pocket.
So, you drive into a lake, and you have to fiddle around in the glove compartment for your emergency hammer?
The well-prepared driver knows you’ve got to have it in your hand at all times. :o
Good point.
And this is something else that the OP prompted in my mind — now that we mostly don’t drive topless jalopies, why would anyone need to keep gloves in the car?
My car doesn’t have a heated steering wheel, so on cold mornings they’re a great thing to have around.
I learned most of my manly rules from Dad, with small contributions from my Scoutmaster and my Uncle Dean. Nowadays I try to keep my glove compartment nearly empty; it lessens the amount of stuff ruined when mice build a nest in there.
If it’s cold enough for gloves to be required, there’s usually a pair in my jacket pockets. I can’t imagine why keeping a special pair of gloves just for the car would be more convenient.
For roadside emergencies like when you need to change tires, check the oil, do under the hood stuff, or when you put gas in and you don’t want your hands to smell.
You put cold gloves on to keep your hands warm? I keep my gloves in my jacket pocket inside the warm house, not in the cold glove compartment.
Work gloves? I’d keep them in the trunk. You’d keep gasoline-stinking or oil-stained gloves in the glove compartment?
Oh I forgot another important item in the glove box—hand moisturizer.
Sure, but I’d think the owner’s manual would also go in there. I mean, my glove box has the owner’s manual, the registration, the tire purchase record (in case I have an unexpected flat and need to prove that I get some prorated mileage), a small first-aid kit, a tire pressure gauge and a flashlight.
And most of that stuff **Jurph **mentions was taught to me as the basics of “being a gentleman”, and I’m only 44. Then again, I’m a southerner of sorts (from SE Texas anyway).
Most of it was from Dad, with sizeable contributions from both grandparents, my friends’ fathers, and my Scoutmaster.
Usually a handful of the plastic latex type gloves. Toss em after usage.
Tire pressure gage is a must.
Cell phone charger that plugs into car.