Driving Fiasco

When we got back from South Carolina I noticed my back left tire was low. It tends to get a little low when the car sits and we had suspected a leaky tire. Monday morning, around 9:45 on December 1 I decided I would go to the gas station and fill the tire with air and then drive to Wal-Mart down the road to get a new tire. In addition to the fix the tire plan, I also planned on going to the grocery store, since we had been gone for 5 days, making a trip to the storage center to pick up Christmas ornaments, and get a car wash. Unfortunately, that didn't so much work.

I was half way to Wal-Mart when the tire just blew out. Completely. As in, shredded and driving on hubcap. Luckily I was right next to the gas station so I pulled in and was not sitting on the side of the road. I pulled in and called for a tow truck to take me to Wal-Mart, literally 5 miles away. Meanwhile, as I waited for the truck, a nice man who had been sitting near a landscaping truck w/ a few other guys approached the car with a small air tank, to fill up the tire. As soon as he saw it shredded he shook his head and said "So do you have a spare?" and I checked and I did, but of course, I am stupid and don't know how to change the damn thing. His buddy Tyronne (who was eating a piece of pecan pie) walked over and we started to chat while Chris crawled around on the ground and changed the tire. Tyronne had just spent the holiday in Georgia with his family, and I suspect that's where the pie came from. The tow truck arrived just as Chris was tightening the last bolt on the tire, so I'm sure they saved me a pretty penny, not needing to pay for the tow. I offered them money but they refused and told me to 'drive carefully' and 'have a good holiday'. So nice!

In case you're wondering, I did make it to Wal-Mart, bought a new tire, and did my grocery shopping while I waited for the car service. Wal-Mart is CHEAP! Definitely reccomended for keeping the grocery bill down. I also fetched the ornaments (after moving several heavy pieces of furniture in the storage unit), did a little bit of Christmas shopping and got the car washed. Of course, the car wash wasn't smooth sailing, either. I didn't buy gas and they don't accept credit cars at the entrance, so I had to back up and go inside and pay. Seriously?! Grrrrrr. And, as icing on the cake, I did not wash my hair or put on makeup that day because I thought I would just be at Wal-Mart's car waiting area a short time to change the tire, no one would see me at the storage place, and the grocery run wouldn't take very long. But of course, since I looked kind of like hell, I ended up in 4 different counties over a 7 hour period (no, seriously) and I think half of Central Florida saw me!