Tire Shop

For the second time in two months I walked out to my car to find that I had a flat tire. The first time it happened it was raining and I wasn't in the mood to get wet, so I did what any able-bodied man would do in that situation. I went back inside and called AAA. 

That was irritating since the tires were brand new. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with tires that I had already replaced. Fortunately, they came with a free repair and replacement service, so I immediately hobbled down to the local America's Tire shop (How's that for a shameless plug?) to cash in on the deal. Unfortunately, the tire was not repairable and had to be replaced. 

I try to take advantage of a good deal when I see one, so months earlier when I bought the tires and there was a close out special on a new set of Goodyear's, I took out. The drawback to buying close out tires is that when you need to replace just one of them, you have trouble finding a match. And that is what happened to me, but the guys at America's Tires (another shameless plug) were relentless and didn't give up until they had tracked down a match and installed it for free. 

When I left the hospital last night after visiting my banged up brother, who incidentally is the proud owner of a new titanium femur plate, I was greeted by my second flat. Since it was after hours and I was in a cozy parking garage, I decided that I was man enough to change it myself. With the itty-bitty spare in place, I called it a night and headed back to the hotel near the hospital. 

This morning, I went back to the nearest America's Tire shop. (Third shameless plug. Lets just start calling them SP's for short.). This one was made for men. They had something in this tire shop that I have never seen before. Since most men like to know what is going on in the garage as their tires get tended to, this store had a huge window overlooking the work area. In front of the window was a counter with bar stools where we could see and read the morning paper while we made sure our tires were correctly installed. After all, us laymen at the counter knew more about tire installation than the guys in the garage actually doing the job.

Fortunately, this time the tire was salvageable. The guys in the garage, under the supervision of those of us at the bar, were able to patch the tire, rotate the others and get me back on the road in no time. 

Hopefully I'll be back on the long road home soon to see my wife and kids. FaceTime can only last so long.