Two weeks ago (on a Tuesday) in Oklahoma City my car decided not to start and thanks to my cousin coming to the rescue I was able to get the car to Auto Zone and put in a new battery. Today it was my tire.
My partner and I had a tight schedule today. We left one city at 11:30 and had to be in another city at 12:30 and the drive in between was about 40 minutes. As we were packing my car to leave our first stop it began to rain. Thank goodness for the rain because we definitely need it! Since we had a little bit of time, we decided to stop at Pizza Hut and have the salad bar for lunch. By the time we left after eating, the rain was coming down in a steady downpour. It wasn't storming, but just a good soaking rain. Somewhere between our lunch stop and twenty minutes down the road, I managed to get a flat tire.
I've changed flats before. I've even changed a flat in dress clothes before, but it's been a while. Since we weren't going to make it to our next stop on time, my partner called to tell them of our trouble. The secretary said she would get in touch with their transportation person and have him come help us. We were only five miles away so they weren't going to have to come far to find us. Not to mention it was a two lane highway and we were the only stopped vehicle around...finding us wasn't going to be a hardship. Since help was on the way, I got out and started rearranging the stuff in the back of the car so that I could get to the spare. It had rained long enough and was continuing to rain so I was getting quite wet and my shoes (which I may have to consider trashing) were sinking in the very squishy mud.
While waiting on the transportation person from the school district that was waiting on us to come speak to them, a gentleman who works for Alfalfa County drove up behind us and asked if we needed help. I told him that we had called someone but that I wasn't sure when they were going to be there exactly so I was trying to get to my spare. He kindly changed my tire in the rain. I stood watching him, thankful that he was willing to help. I am capable of changing a tire, but not as practiced as some so it probably would have taken me longer than it took our Good Samaritan. We were close to in business, he was lowering the jack, my partner was telling the district that we would be there by 1:30 and then the other shoe dropped. My spare was flat. I've never had a flat tire on this car before. The jack and spare were being used for the first time today, but that doughnut sure was missing some air!!
So it was Good Samaritan to the rescue again. He called the County Commissioner for Alfalfa County to see about sending someone out with an air compressor. It just so happens that my partner is married to one of the County Commissioners for Garfield County, so when the Alfalfa County Commissioner found out a colleague's wife was on the side of the road there was a little heckling, but he very promptly sent us a second gentleman who kindly filled my spare with air.
When my partner told the administrator that was waiting on us that the spare was flat he said...sounds like you girls should just work out your problems, we can re-schedule. We felt really badly about the missed engagement, but it wasn't something we could help. The school was understanding and we certainly appreciate that. By the time we drove away from our tire changing spot, we were both pretty soaked and my shoes and feet were muddy. We made it back to town, going forty miles an hour, and I took my car in to Hibdon to have them see about possibly repairing or if needed replacing my tire.
We were only alone on the side of the road for a few minutes before our first Good Samaritan arrived. I am blessed to have the skills to deal with problems like that, but I'm also blessed to live in a place where citizens are ready to help. I've learned a lot about the position of County Commissioner in the last few weeks and I'm sure I'll learn more. I also know that I'll be paying closer attention when I vote for that office now that I know what they do!
We're back on the road tomorrow, in my partner's car this time, every day is an adventure, and I wouldn't trade a single thing! Including my rain soaked, flat tire experience!
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