Monday, February 16, 2015

Friday the 13th came a few days late

I'd just finished lunch at El Pollo Loco in Buckeye, Arizona. I love their chicken. (Disclaimer: I used to do their advertising.) I did not love seeing I had a flat tire. Grumble grumble grumble. I was glad it was there, though, and not out on I-10, where I'd been just before. Or down some dirt road. And that it was daylight. And the weather was pleasant.

So I got out the tools and went about changing the flat. I'd done this before. Easy-peasy. Until I tried getting the spare from under the Rolling Steel Tent. Something was jammed. I banged and pried and swore. My #1 pair of non-sunglasses fell out of my pocket. I didn't notice. I rolled over them and scratched the hell out of the lenses. I swore some more. The spare refused to come free.

Fortunately, there was a Discount Tire across the street. Also fortunately, they were open on Presidents Day. They would know what to do. And since driving over there on a flat tire would destroy it, they would gladly replace it, thanks to my warranty.

"Oh yeah," said the friendly counter guy at Discount Tire. "We can get that unjammed, no problem."

"We couldn't get it unjammed," said the frustrated tire mechanic an hour and a half later. "You'll probably need to go to a Chevy dealer." It was now 2:30, the nearest dealer was halfway back to Phoenix, and the service department would probably be closed for the holiday, anyway. Also, I needed to be going west, not east. Okay, I'd go to the Chevy dealer in Yuma. Then I could jump over the border to get bargain-priced replacement lenses for my glasses.

But first, go meet up with Jo and Lou near Ajo, Arizona. Chill with them. Let the frustration toxins clear from my system. Be glad this wasn't a serious problem.

2 comments:

  1. Houses don't get flat tires. But you could get flat-out tired of shoveling the snow, mowing the lawn and clearing the gutters. Hope everything gets straightened out.

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  2. When I was a homeowner, I replaced the furnace, the air conditioner, the hot water heater, the roof (twice), the washer and dryer... I had the plumber out a half dozen times. I had chronic water seepage in the basement. I painted the whole house, inside and out, three times. I had to have two trees taken down. Compared to that, a couple of flat tires in a year and a half is nothing.

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