Time to carry around a broom stick handle.

Reminds me of the 1969 Step-side Chevy pickup I drove for awhile back in the day (hand-me-down from Dad). The hood springs were messed up, so I used the broomstick. At a service station once, I exited the pickup with the broomstick in hand and walked over to open the hood (no inside release). The service station attendant asked me what the stick was for, and for some strange reason I decided to mess with him and said "I'm going to hit you over the head with it."

Anyway, when I opened and propped the hood, he realized I was not serious. Later, a sibling who got fuel at the same station, told me the attendant was a friend of hers and at first he believed my aggressive statement.

As a follow-up, one day years later Dad asked me to check the oil level on the same pickup. I walked over there and with both hands prepared to lift the heavy hood like I had been accustomed to do, I hit the release. When I went to lift the hood, it went flying up into the air. My old man had replaced the hood springs and never told me. He got a big laugh when the new springs surprised the hell out of me.