More Car Trouble
What was the deal with the big red tow truck in the COSTCO parking lot on Saturday? Did you see it totally blocking the traffic in an already poorly planned, congested parking lot? Did you see those people standing in the parking lot looking forlornly at their car? They seemed like they had been out there for at least 4 hours. They looked really cold. That guy looked so dirty from laying under his car and the woman, well, she just looked like she might kill herself a tow truck driver.
I saw it, oh wait, I lived it.
That's right our one working car got a flat tire on Saturday. Normally its no big deal to get a flat tire. You pop on your spare, run the tire over to the tire place and get it fixed. Thanks to Chad, even I have the skills to solve a flat tire problem. Sure it is annoying and takes some time, but it's hardly the worst problem in the world.
But there is one hitch. In order for the pop-the-tire-off-replace-it plan to go smoothly, you have to be able to actually get the tire off. Ah there's the rub. After more than three hours of trying Chad could not get the tire the car. He could get all five lug nuts out, but he couldn't get the actual tire off.
After a couple of hours of trying he called his Dad and asked for a big hammer. Then he laid under the car and started beating the living daylights out of the tire from the backside. This is where I started to get a little worried. I was slightly worried he would do more damage to the tire than was already done, but mostly I was afraid the car might fall on him. I did not express these concerns because Chad had this look on his face. He doesn't get such a look often, so I just chose to keep my mouth shut. I think it was a smart call.
As we passed into hour 4, I said "ok, that's it. I'm calling a tow truck." When the tow truck leisurely pulled into the parking lot about 45 min later I gave him the address of the tire place where I needed him to tow the car. He looked at the car and asked us if we had tried changing the tire ourselves. I thought Chad might actually strangle him.
For reasons only he understands tow truck man (or hooker man, as Brynn calls him) decides he would rather not tow the car, so he'll try and help us get the tire off. After about 10 or 15 minutes of trying, despite using a crowbar, tow truck man concedes. Yes, the tire is stuck on and he can't get it off. He gives up and is going to tow the car. He starts to put the lug nuts back in, only, uh oh, he has now pulled the tire off just enough that he can't line it up and get the lug nuts back in. Of course.
So for a while he tries to get the tire to line back up. At this point I return to my in-laws car where the girls have been safely (and warmly) watching this saga unfold. Then I hear Grace say:
"Oh my gosh, mom. That guy is kicking our car." I turn around and sure enough. He's sitting on the ground and using the bottom of his heavy work boots to try and kick the tire back into place.
So back out into the cold I go to find out what our options are. Apparently he can't get the tire lined back up to put the lug nuts in and because the tire is no longer secured to the car the guy doesn't think he should tow it. So that leaves us one option - tire must come off.
I'm saying some serious silent prayers that tow truck man will be able to get the tire off the car and by sheer miracle he does. We change it, pay the guy $50 and are slowly on our way. Let's just say that little spare tires were not meant for snow, slush or speed.
Turns out the tire had rusted onto the axle, which apparently is pretty common. The biggest miracle of all is hitting the tire with a hammer, prying it with a crowbar, kicking it, swearing at it, etc none of it seems to have done damage to the car. So tomorrow morning I'll head over to get the tire fixed.
On Saturday, Grace said to me "boy, mom. We are having a bad car weekend." We sure are.
They say good things come in threes right? I bet crappy things do to and that makes me scared.
Mom's Note: To my lovely children who will one day read this and think this was the biggest problem in my life. It isn't. I do have an eternal perspective and realize this is no big deal. It is just totally annoying and I have long been of the opinion that things like cars, teeth, feet...these things should just work. They should not require maintenance, but alas they do and so sometimes I get annoyed.
I saw it, oh wait, I lived it.
That's right our one working car got a flat tire on Saturday. Normally its no big deal to get a flat tire. You pop on your spare, run the tire over to the tire place and get it fixed. Thanks to Chad, even I have the skills to solve a flat tire problem. Sure it is annoying and takes some time, but it's hardly the worst problem in the world.
But there is one hitch. In order for the pop-the-tire-off-replace-it plan to go smoothly, you have to be able to actually get the tire off. Ah there's the rub. After more than three hours of trying Chad could not get the tire the car. He could get all five lug nuts out, but he couldn't get the actual tire off.
After a couple of hours of trying he called his Dad and asked for a big hammer. Then he laid under the car and started beating the living daylights out of the tire from the backside. This is where I started to get a little worried. I was slightly worried he would do more damage to the tire than was already done, but mostly I was afraid the car might fall on him. I did not express these concerns because Chad had this look on his face. He doesn't get such a look often, so I just chose to keep my mouth shut. I think it was a smart call.
As we passed into hour 4, I said "ok, that's it. I'm calling a tow truck." When the tow truck leisurely pulled into the parking lot about 45 min later I gave him the address of the tire place where I needed him to tow the car. He looked at the car and asked us if we had tried changing the tire ourselves. I thought Chad might actually strangle him.
For reasons only he understands tow truck man (or hooker man, as Brynn calls him) decides he would rather not tow the car, so he'll try and help us get the tire off. After about 10 or 15 minutes of trying, despite using a crowbar, tow truck man concedes. Yes, the tire is stuck on and he can't get it off. He gives up and is going to tow the car. He starts to put the lug nuts back in, only, uh oh, he has now pulled the tire off just enough that he can't line it up and get the lug nuts back in. Of course.
So for a while he tries to get the tire to line back up. At this point I return to my in-laws car where the girls have been safely (and warmly) watching this saga unfold. Then I hear Grace say:
"Oh my gosh, mom. That guy is kicking our car." I turn around and sure enough. He's sitting on the ground and using the bottom of his heavy work boots to try and kick the tire back into place.
So back out into the cold I go to find out what our options are. Apparently he can't get the tire lined back up to put the lug nuts in and because the tire is no longer secured to the car the guy doesn't think he should tow it. So that leaves us one option - tire must come off.
I'm saying some serious silent prayers that tow truck man will be able to get the tire off the car and by sheer miracle he does. We change it, pay the guy $50 and are slowly on our way. Let's just say that little spare tires were not meant for snow, slush or speed.
Turns out the tire had rusted onto the axle, which apparently is pretty common. The biggest miracle of all is hitting the tire with a hammer, prying it with a crowbar, kicking it, swearing at it, etc none of it seems to have done damage to the car. So tomorrow morning I'll head over to get the tire fixed.
On Saturday, Grace said to me "boy, mom. We are having a bad car weekend." We sure are.
They say good things come in threes right? I bet crappy things do to and that makes me scared.
Mom's Note: To my lovely children who will one day read this and think this was the biggest problem in my life. It isn't. I do have an eternal perspective and realize this is no big deal. It is just totally annoying and I have long been of the opinion that things like cars, teeth, feet...these things should just work. They should not require maintenance, but alas they do and so sometimes I get annoyed.
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