3rd of July fun on the 4th of July weekend

Happy 4th of July!!! Independence Day. To celebrate, I had my first holiday blowout. A tire blowout. It could not have been more fun.

http://www.activityowner.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/flat_tire.jpg

I was driving along singing to an original Broadway Cast Production of Aida with the barfing dog in the back and suddenly I heard a noise that did not sound like Adam Pascal singing. Damn. I pulled over and there was a very large metal object sticking straight out of my right rear tire. It sorta looked like I had installed those spikes on my tires like they used to have on Roman chariots. That would have been cool. Unfortunately I had a big flat tire which was so not cool. And as a special added bonus to my day, my 100 lb dog had just barfed not once but twice in the back seat. I pulled over to the side of the road (luckily there was a shoulder) and called AAA. Turns out they can’t come on the Saw Mill Parkway (don’t know why) but they called a county police officer who called a tow truck.

A tow truck finally came and changed the tire. Before that some guy pulled over and asked me what was wrong. He said he would change the tire for me, but I told him I already have a tow truck on the way. He seemed nice enough, but I’ve seen enough TV shows to know that he was probably a serial killer. It’s times like that when I’m glad I have a 100lb dog with me. Isn’t that terrible? One can no longer trust the kindness of strangers. (If in fact he was going to be kind and not chop me up into little pieces and throw me into the woods.)

And then to top it off, one tow truck with an official “westchester.gov” address on the back showed up and the man was very nice, afraid of the dog and said he could change the tire. He was almost done when ANOTHER tow truck showed up and the 2nd guy started saying that the first guy shouldn’t have helped me because HE was the truck that was dispatched by the county police. I just wanted to get out of there. I found out later from my sister and brother-in-law that Westchester County (that’s the one north of the Bronx for all of you getting your maps out) has these “help” trucks that patrol the highways and help people with flat tires, cars that overheat, etc.

It was all very creepy and I’m just really glad it was in the middle of the afternoon and not the middle of the night. My cell was barely getting reception up there. Thank goodness my sister was available to meet me, take my doggie and all my stuff and bring it home with her while I went to a Sears Automotive place and got the tire changed. It took 3 hours and cost me much more than the $156.00 for the new tire since I spent those 3 hours at the mall. (I hate shopping and I hate malls, but I had no choice I had to shop.)

But I learned quite a bit! I now know where the spare tire is on my car, how to get to it, where the special thingy is to take off the one lug nut on the tire that is “locked”, what a lug nut is, not to drive 70 mph with a doughnut instead of a real tire and, most importantly, that I can take care of myself even though I wanted to cry.

So Happy 4th of July to everyone. I got me some independence today. I learned how to get a flat tire changed!

13 comments

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July 6, 2009 at 3:12 am

jimmyboi2

BRAVA !!!!! Good for you : ) Your serial killer fear reminded me of what Lois said as we were driving across Florida IN THE DARK on a 2-lane road: “DON’T STOP FOR ANYTHING !!!! I’ve seen these movies where the hillbillies come outta the woods, grab the people into the woods, and skin them !” We DID stop for Diet Coke and Snickers for me, at a lonely outpost– I needed caffeine. Lois was terrified. “THERE ARE SCARY WOMEN OUT THERE BY THAT TRUCK WITH BASEBALL BATS !!! DON’T GET OUTTA THE CAR BUT IF YOU DO I NEED MARLBORO LIGHTS BOX !!!”

July 6, 2009 at 4:41 am

Carol King

I do not like driving at night when there are no street lamps. When I am coming back from Alice’s it’s DARK. Why can’t they put up some damn street lights. So people can see.

I probably would have been like Lois screaming DON’T STOP FOR ANYTHING. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I’m coming home from upstate and I see my first glimpse of the big apartment buildings in the Bronx. Whew. Not scary anymore.

July 6, 2009 at 4:42 am

Kung

Wow! I am glad you were alright. That sounded like a pretty scary experience. The truth is that once you see how they change the blown tire with the spare, you can do it yourself the next time you get stuck. Just remember to set the jack securily. Seven years ago when Paul and I had a flat tire with the rental car at Ft. Lauderdale, he had no idea how to do it so I figured it out and was able ro use the spare until turning it in at the airport.

July 6, 2009 at 5:42 am

AKLizzy

Good for you! New found bravery and a new skill! I have NO idea, zero, zip, zilch on how to change a tire. I’m very glad you made to and from Mom and Dad’s safely. And poor Kaiya! Would puppy dramamine help her for car-rides??

July 6, 2009 at 8:59 am

InkSplodge!

Well done – every woman should know how to change a tire. Hope you’re pleased with your mall purchases.

July 6, 2009 at 10:50 am

judylobo

Wow! And I thought the Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3 was scary. It turns out the flat ‘tiring’ of Carol King on the Saw Mill River Parkway could be a movie too and the alternate title could be SAW 3. Glad you are all right.

July 7, 2009 at 8:50 pm

Bonnie

A potentially scary outcome of a seemingly scary story, told with your signature application of sarcasm, humor, skepticism and triumph.
And isn’t it a kind of independence to know that you can rely on yourself if you have to.

The guy who taught me how to drive when I was about 20, was our building supers son. A big, tough looking, muscle shirted hulk who was really very nice.
After getting familiar with the road and getting me on the highway after 5 minutes behind the wheel, he told me to pull over to the curb.
” OK “, he said, now change the tire!!
What??!!!!
Yeah, what if you’re alone and there’s no one to help you?
So he grunted out a few basic instructions and stood off to the side, arms akimbo ( a not often used word ), and had me jack up the car, loosen the lug nuts, take the filthy tire off, etc etc etc.
What was really funny was watching the expressions on the faces of the passersby as they surmised what a shitheel I was married to and how can she be so submissive……

July 9, 2009 at 1:07 pm

carolking

You were smart Bonnie! Every time Matt wanted to show me stuff about the car and the tires I didn’t want to listen and look where it got me! Stuck on the saw mill on the verge of tears! Live and learn!

July 8, 2009 at 2:05 pm

swatch

What a jape – so you learnt something new and got some stuff you didnt need at the mall – heh heh

July 8, 2009 at 8:20 pm

Donald Diddams

Wow, a good lesson I guess. I hate flat tires… it seems to be a common thing here on the island. I think all the construction guys leave their screws loose, and they scatter over the road (or something like that…).

Now what I really want to know is whether your sweet 100 pound doggie always pukes in the car, or does he only do it on special occasions?

July 9, 2009 at 1:13 pm

Yes, my sweet 100 lb doggie almost always barfs in the car. She’s 4 now and we have tried almost everything. Since she was a young puppy she has gotten sick in the car. We’ve tried de-sensitization where we would just put her the car and sit with her and give her a treat and then slowly build up to a short car ride of a block or so, rewarding her with some playtime in the dog park. We’ve tried dramamine, a dog chiropractor, a healer (that actually worked for a while – maybe she needs another session with her) and not feeding her before she gets in the car. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them.

July 10, 2009 at 2:55 am

wrjones