Last night I got to experience an 'adventure' of my very own with only the memory of my mother's cheery outlook to keep me focused on the positive side of things. Before I go into the fun details I want to make clear that there are a lot of positives and actual blessings in this tale of woe. I recognize those blessings and will reiterate them at the end. So....let's just dive in shall we?
Thursday Evening 520pm
Due to seasonal illnesses that have attacked some of my co-workers my schedule has been adjusted and I am working later which means I'm leaving work just as traffic becomes the heaviest. It's been a long day and I'm not looking forward to the 1.5-2hr drive home that lies ahead of me. As I turn the corner from the side road onto the main road heading home I clip the curb with my back passenger tire. There is a certain sound associated with hitting a curb with your tire. I don't quite know how to explain it other than a hollow thunk mixed with the squeak of rubber against concrete. The sound I heard was all of that plus a strange cracking sound. I immediately knew there was something terribly wrong but held out a tiny hope that it would be okay. Crossing the street to a wide/semi-empty side road I heard the unquestionable sound of a very flat tire. I felt emotionally as deflated as I knew my tire was. This means a minimum of $250 out of my pocket as you cannot wisely purchase only one new tire.
Looking at each of my tires as I made a quick call to a local friend (before realizing I did indeed have a 'doughnut' in my trunk.) I felt my emotions sink even lower. As I pulled out the tiny tire from my trunk and set up the necessary tools I considered what needed to be done to get me home. It has been almost a year since I played the game of 'buy two tires and keep the best two on the car' to avoid the $450-$500 bill of four new tires. Two of these tires (including the one blown) have been needing replaced for well over a year and the two I bought last year are about 3-4 months overdue. I took a deep breath and set about to get the tire changed as I waited for a friendly officer to come and help me out. I hoped reinforcements would arrive before I got to the one part in the tire changing process that I always dread....setting the jack.
I like to consider myself mostly self sufficient. Obviously I'm nothing of a mechanic and cannot solve any in depth issues, but when it comes to something as simple as changing a tire I am far from helpless. That being said, I am terrified of placing the jack in the wrong spot and somehow further damaging my vehicle. Thankfully a couple of civil servants arrived and helped calm my fears on that end.
Thursday Evening 6pm
I located a tire shop only about five miles away from work. While I wasn't looking forward to the money about to come out of my bank account I was feeling relieved to be closer to going home. As I pulled around the corner of the building I saw the employees were busy working on cars in each bay and several people standing inside and outside of the office waiting for their vehicles. I was very confused then, when I attempted to open the front door and found it locked. Why would it be locked? They were clearly open...what was going on? I looked down at the hours listed on the door and realized it said closing was 6pm...of course it was now 6:15. The exasperation I was holding back threatened to explode into desperation as tears stung at the corners of my eyes about to spill over. "Stop it Laura?", I internally chided myself. "This is doable, you will find a solution and you will not break down crying like the helpless girl you are feeling like right now. If you have to sleep in your car at work, you will do so without breaking down and crying! Just breathe." Taking a deep breath I headed to one of the open garage bays and quietly asked the first person I saw, "Can you please direct me to a tire place that is still open? I live an hour from here and don't have the option of just waiting until tomorrow morning."
The manager looked at me for a moment and seemed to have an internal struggle with himself before answering me. I don't know if he could see how close I was to breaking down or if he just didn't want to lose an obvious customer but he brusquely said, "Give me a minute, we'll take care of you." He followed me to my car where he said, "All of your tires are really bad." I told him I was aware of that, but was hoping because of the cost of tires these days to only have to replace two right now. He picked out the two in the best shape but said they didn't really have any life left on them either. Then he paused and asked me to follow him inside the office. After a few minutes on the computer he looked up and said, "I can get you four new tires for $330." Knowing that was the best price I have had for four new tires in the past four years I begrudgingly told him to go ahead and replace all four.
Thursday Evening 640pm
Back on the road, but much poorer than when I started I merged onto the highway and realized my gas tank was firmly on empty. The next exit was the main road that heads from the freeway to my work and it had a gas station so I turned off, heading straight back towards work. At the first large intersection I saw police lights and sat in a huge backup for ten minutes waiting to get through. Finally passing through the intersection I saw two vehicles horribly mangled and parts scattered across half of the area. There is no doubt the passengers/drivers of the vehicles were on their way to the hospital if not worse.
Finally at the gas station I was chatting with my best friend Jessica (using my fancy bluetooth headset) while filling the tank. Before leaving I realized my hands and forearms were full of tire/road grime and headed inside to wash off. I entered the restroom and went straight to the sink where I began scrubbing while listening to a story Jessica was telling me. Suddenly my mind was confused by a strange voice speaking. "Are they cleaning the bathroom and I didn't notice the sign?", I thought to myself as I rinsed off the soap from my hands and got some paper towels. I clearly remembered checking the signs on the door before opening it and didn't remember any cleaning signs. I felt mildly bad for the employee who would clearly be embarrassed that I was in the restroom. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a stall door open and a tall man in his mid 70's step out. We stood there for a moment, our eyes meeting in the mirror, the look of complete confusion equal on both of our faces as the sound of Jessica speaking turned from individual words into a rhythmic rush of sound crashing against my ears. "Isn't this?", he started then stopped as he moved hesitatingly forward, "Aren't we? I thought this was...". He passed behind me heading for the door and I threw away the paper towels as I turned to follow him out. As I turned I saw the urinal hanging on the wall behind me, "Yep.", I thought to myself, "I'm totally in the men's restroom." We stepped out of the room and he paused to look at the plaque on the wall, "Yes, this is the men's room.", he said quietly then walked away without giving me a second glance. I barely made it into the WOMEN'S restroom before bursting out in fits of uncontrollable laughter. I could hardly breathe and realized Jessica was still talking with me and I had no clue what she had even said. I rudely interrupted her and we both enjoyed a full minute or so of laughter at my expense.
Thursday Evening 7pm
As I'm about to pull out and head north to the closest freeway exit I remember the accident and realize traffic is still backed up. I decide to head south and take a giant square around to the freeway instead of waiting in the line of traffic. I drive past work and laugh at the irony that it's two hours and $360 later and I am no closer to home than when I began. I then realize that with an hour drive still ahead of me it will be too late to cook and eat dinner by the time I get home. I will have to go without dinner or stop at the one fast food restraunt that offers something that fits into my eating plan...Chick-fil-a. (I give them a shout out for offering me the option of grilled chicken and fresh fruit) There is one nearby....next to the tire shop I was just at. All I want is to be on the road heading home by now, but I figure my body does need some nutrition so I pass the freeway and turn into the drive through. Man they are busy....15minutes later I have food and am heading to the freeway yet again.
Thursday Evening 815pm
Just as I am passing the last intersection before home I get a message from my niece, "can you pick me up from school?" I pull over and give her a call. I am nearby I can be there in a few minutes, "You haven't been home yet?!" Nope....I've been having an adventure.
It was an ugly, nasty, expensive, embarrassing and super exhausting evening but that is not the entire story. I know that my life is so very blessed. Even in the middle of 'trials' I am encompassed by blessings. Here are just a few that I was given in only 3hrs last night:
- Instead of blowing out on the freeway when I was driving at high rates of speed and could cause a terrible accident, this tire that ideally should have been replaced 12 months ago blew out when I was driving less than 5mph turning a corner and right where there were friends to come and help me through the process of changing the tire.
- When I could have been stranded overnight because I didn't make it to the tire shop before closing, a kind hearted person chose to put themselves out to help me.
- The cost of four new tires was significantly lower than I expected and lower than I have seen in several years.
- I actually have money that I can use to pay for the very necessary tires.
PS. The restroom portion of the evening, I believe, was purely for entertainment value.
