HELOISE Car emergency kit can come in handy

Dear Heloise: When I was young and my father provided a car for me to use, he handed me a star wrench (for changing tires) and told me that this was my emergency kit. Now, as the father of two teenage driving daughters, I have provided each with a kit that hopefully will come in handy if needed. In the kit are:
UFlashlight with spare batteries
UFirst-aid kit
UMini umbrella
USmall tool kit
UTire-pressure gauge
UOriginal car owner's manual
UBattery cables
USmall fire extinguisher
UBlanket
UPlastic poncho
URoadside reflectors
Most of this can be obtained inexpensively at discount stores, and all can be fitted in a small, inexpensive bag and stored in the trunk. The list can be expanded as needed. In my early driving career, I needed each item at one point or another and didn't have them. Morris Tarleton, Houston
Dear Heloise: I appreciated your recent advice regarding the shelf life of sandwich meat once a package is opened. As a finicky eater, I've often thrown good meat away after two days for fear that it might have gotten a bit edgy in the refrigerator.
It reminded me of a great sandwich tip from my school days. We used to complain that the meat in our sandwiches tasted funny by the time we got around to eating them. (Mom would make them at 6:30 in the morning, then they'd be kept at room temperature in our lunch boxes for about five to six hours before we ate them.)
She solved the problem simply and gave us the freshest sandwiches in the classroom. She kept a loaf of bread in the freezer and would make our sandwiches on frozen slices of bread. The cold bread helped keep everything fresher until it was time to eat, and the sandwiches were always thawed by lunch time. Jack Burke, Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Jack, you just sent me back to grade school when I was young -- I can smell that lunch box right now. Thanks for the memories. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I think you'll find this the best hint in years for a person who must transfer a loved one from a walker to a dining-room chair and then push the person forward to the table.
Just glue "furniture movers" to the bottoms of chair legs and glide the person in or out from the table with total ease. Weight is no longer a factor. This hint may be extended to other situations, even to moving a person from room to room. Laney Mesto, Bridgeport, W.Va.
Dear Heloise: Since my cell phone is the only phone I have, when I work in the yard, I put it in a small, plastic food-storage dish and lay it close to me. This keeps it from getting wet or possibly damaged, yet I'll still hear it if it rings. Jerrie Allison, Temple, Texas
XSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, Fax: (210) HELOISE or E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate