2nd Time’s A Charm?

This weekend was starting off pretty sweet. Today I got a bunch of stuff done, picked up Joseph’s “Tool and Garden Shower” gifts from Sears to be presented on behalf of Pat, Andy, and I, paid the LP&L folks for the month, and stopped by Kohl’s for two new pairs of slacks. I also got quite a few things done at the office, which is, as most of you know, out of the norm for me. Another good deal was getting out of the office a bit early today so I could pack quickly and then be on the road here to the Days Inn in Brady, TX before continuing on to Fredericksburg, TX for Brandon Kuehler and Betsy Strosser’s wedding tomorrow.

Well, Katie and I were on the road by 5:30pm, made one stop on I-20 for some dinner at Wendy’s and continued on our way. At about 8:45pm, no less than about 30 or more minutes away from the hotel the Rodeo starts shaking violently and I slowed down because sometimes Katie’s car gets a little wobbly at 65 or above. Then I continue driving at about 60 and hear the tell tale *thud thud thud thud* and I see white smoke coming out the back of the car through the rear-view mirror.

We get out, check the right rear tire and it is almost completely shredded away from the wheel, a complete blowout (the picture above is from Google Images, the real one is still on my phone and I’ll post that on Monday). It was pretty sweet, it looked like someone had used a gigantic can opener to uncork that tire. Needless to say it was getting dark quick and we were almost totally out of sunlight.

I started getting all the proper tools out but one thing was missing, the damn tire iron that we had broken in March while trying to fix another flat while driving to Possum Kingdom State Park for some Spring Break camping. We needed that tire iron to twist the long metal rod to get the spare down, we already had a replacement four point tire iron, but it obviously wouldn’t twist the spare down.

So Katie starts calling AAA and I started walking down I-83 so that we can give AAA the mile marker we are closest to when some good Samaritans drive past me, slow down, turn around and ask what the situation is and offer to help, not to mention a couple of beers. It turns out that these two kind hearted souls live in Plainview where the husband farms and the wife actually works in Lubbock selling makeup in the Ribbons & Bows lingerie store near 82nd and Quaker.

Well, they help us get the spare down and the lugnuts loosened when out of nowhere a guy walks across the street and asks if we need help with anything. Apparently this guy has been working this 1,700 acre ranch that I-83 bisects and he was out on his ATV and saw the flashing hazards of the Rodeo and stopped to help. He went back to the house real quick, picks up a hydraulic jack, comes back, jacks the Rodeo up in two seconds, puts the spare on and we are on our ways.

After the job was done both of the guys that helped out ended offering each other beers, which was pretty funny, but we respectfully declined as I had to drive and Katie is not a fan. So, here we sit about to hit the sack at the Days Inn in Brady, TX ready to take on the day of Brandon and Betsy’s wedding when the sun comes up, see everyone on Sunday when we get back.