I REALLY Don't Have Time For A Flat Tire!

I find myself sitting in the the tire repair waiting room this morning...and it is just now only 9:15! I can tell how this day is going to proceed already. I have a million things to do today...and now I have a flat tire! Isn't that how it always is? Is there really ANY good time at all to have a flat tire?





I suppose this morning's turn of events could have been avoided altogether. I knew there was a nail in that tire, however, I sort of slipped that information into one of the back corner's of my mind...and NOW look where that got me; the tire repair store.





Two days ago, I had to travel out of town by myself. Now, going by myself wasn't a big deal. I'm not a person who must have a traveling companion or am afraid to travel alone. So, off I set for my two hour road trip. Traveling the back roads for the first portion of my trip, I had gotten no further than a few mile when the "exclamation point" lit up. OK...it's not an exclamation point; that's just what it looks like to me. It's the low air in your tire light. CRAP! As I continued on to the interstate, another light came on which also shut my cruise control off. DOUBLE CRAP! So, I called Robby. Answering the phone, his first words to me were..."I'll call you right back." Well, OK...I was getting more aggravated by the minute! When he called back, I didn't immediately tell him about the tire, but reprimanded him for putting me off like that. After all, I WAS traveling alone and WHO KNOWS what was going on. This did NOT seem to concern him; my "damsel in distress" routine was not working on him...Hmph! I told him about my tire and quite calmly he instructed me to stop by the Wal-Mart in the next town. WAL-MART??? NEVER! I would think of something else. I remembered a Texaco station just off of the interstate and decided to stop there. However, before I arrived at my destination, I found that I had ANOTHER little problem. Apparently that extra cup of coffee was working overtime on my bladder. I had to find a bathroom...and QUICK! Don't laugh...you KNOW you've been there too. So, now I was driving quite fast...on a quickly deflating tire...while holding the seat belt away from my bladder!





Pulling into the Texaco station, I walked very quickly in and headed straight for the bathroom. The bathroom issue was now primary and the tire one secondary. I grabbed the door handle...LOCKED! I stood outside the door listening to a mother and her young child sing the Barney and ABC song over and over, while crossing my legs and trying not wet my pants. Were they EVER coming out of there?! Apparently NOT...so, looking around, I grabbed the handle to the men's bathroom door and went in. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...I would have squatted behind a tree at this point! I exited the men's bathroom at the same time the singing duo exited theirs. Looking embarrassed, the woman said, "I'm sorry." I told her not to worry and then began looking for someone to help me with my tire. The first man I ran into, I asked, "Do you work here?" Lucky for me, he did. I told him I needed air in my tires and asked if he could assist me. He gladly agreed to help and that's when he told me that I probably had a nail in that tire. Hoping it was a slow leak, I headed off for the remainder of my trip.





I made it to my destination and home safely and having a busy week ahead, put that "nail in the tire" information back in the corner of my mind again. Until this morning, that is. No sooner had I gotten on the road, for yet another very busy day than those darn lights went off again. Calling Robby, he suggested that I just stop by Wal-Mart (what IS it with him and Wal-Mart?) and have it repaired. I hated to go by there (because of past experiences), but is WAS closer than the Good Year place...and it was early. I quickly pulled in. Things looked pretty positive there at first because they took my vehicle in right away. I took advantage of this stop and grabbed a couple of items while I was there. I arrived back at the tire counter just in time to see them pulling my vehicle back around...AMAZING! Maybe I hadn't given Wal-Mart any credit. This was going to be OK after all. "Mam, I don't have the tools to remove your lug nuts. You'll have to take your vehicle somewhere else," the attendant said. WHAT?! What do you mean you don't have tools? Isn't this a STORE? I thought Wal-Mart had EVERYTHING! Ugh...I was off again...to the Good Year place, where I now sit waiting to have my tire fixed. It has been 55 minutes now and the girl just came over to me..."Mam (I'm beginning to dread hearing that word), we can't fix your tire. WHAT?! I'm not believing this! "Why?", I asked. The nail is too close to your "whatever" (blah, blah, blah) and you need a new tire. Did I say CRAP?! I called Robby and he OK'd buying a new tire. I am SUPER behind for the day now, as they begin to put my spare tire on...the new tire must be ordered and put on tomorrow (GREAT!...I'm so very excited about getting to visit this place again).





So, the moral to this story? Don't put off what you COULD HAVE and SHOULD HAVE done yesterday...because if you do, you might find yourself sitting in a waiting room wasting your time...when you REALLY don't have the time!

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