December 11, 1998
All Tired Out
I am the Queen of Flat Tires, oh yes, I am. Heading down the interstate this morning, about two miles from work, I hear the ominous thud-thud-thud of a tire blowing out. My first thought: "That does it. I'm getting a cell phone." My next thought: "It's too damn cold to walk the rest of the way to work." Following closely: "I am so late." But I climbed out of my car and shut the door, and after looking at the shredded remains of my front driver's side tire, started the walk.
After a few moments, I heard a horn beep behind me and saw someone in a minivan on the shoulder behind me. It was kinda scary, in a way. It was some guy who said he saw me pull off the road and turned around to offer to help. Although I was decidedly leery, I accepted his offer of a ride the rest of the way in, since I didn't have a spare tire. I only ended up being ten minutes late. The conversation was typical of two strangers, but as I am fond of saying, "Subtext is everything."
Him: So where were you headed?
Me: I was on my way to work. It's about a mile from here, and I'm running late. (Subtext: If you're an evil person looking to rape or kidnap me, people know where I am and are expecting me!)
Sad, but apparently it worked, since I made it to work alive.
Now, why is Lisa the Queen of Flat Tires? Two related incidents before this one, going back four months or so. Back in August, James was in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, playing Puck. Well, I had to see it, so I planned a trip to Indiana. I left on a Saturday morning, and at about 10:30, passed through Bowling Green, Ohio. I stopped for gas and for breakfast. On my way back down the expressway on-ramp, I hit a pothole. Well no, I think it was a crater, actually. At any rate, my tire nearly exploded. Thud-thud-thud. I walked back to the exit, called AAA and by about 11:45, a tow truck came to help me. My spare, it turned out, did not fit my car, and I was told that all of the tire places in town closed at noon on Saturdays. Did I panic? No. We found a place that was open until 3 and took the car there. So far, so good. I called James and told him I would be late. I waited. Finally I was told that I needed a new rim. Ok, no problem - I thought. "We don't have any rims for your car in stock, and everything just closed. We can't fix your car until Monday morning." No amount of begging or pleading or whining could change the situation. At the time, I had no one to really call for help, so I ending up finding a hotel room and spending a very long, very boring weekend in Bowling Green. (Happy ending to the story: I got to see the play the following weekend.)
Now, jump ahead about three weeks, to Labor Day weekend. James and I had planned a trip to Toronto for a big Changeling LARP (Live Action Role-Playing) weekend. I went to Indiana to pick him up, which means I passed Bowling Green four times that weekend. Many jokes were made, as well as warding-off signs. Toronto was a blast, and a good time was had by all (of us, at least). We left for home on Monday morning, tired but happy. About two hours out of Toronto, after a traffic jam, we hear the now-familiar thud-thud-thud. Fortunately I made it to a gas station and we sat around for about an hour while they replaced my tire.
So, I'm getting a new set of tires today, budget be damned.
And I AM getting a cell phone for Christmas.
