Saturday I decided to go run a bunch of errands while my husband went to Triangle, ID with his dad to bring a horse trailer up there (it's in the Owyhee Mountains) and visit horses. So I headed out to Target, Home Depot, Winco Groceries and then home.
I was sitting at a stoplight near Winco when I hear all this hollering and whistling behind me, so I poke my head out the window and the guy says "Hey you've got a flat tire!" Oh great, just great. "Thanks for letting me know!" and I turn to pull into the Dairy Queen parking lot to check it out. (That also sucks because right now I can't eat Dairy Queen as I am doing the 6 Week Body Makeover-rar!)
So I hop out and sure as the sun shines there is the flat. Left rear tire on my Jeep Liberty. POOT! What the heck am I going to do??? Jason is 2 hours away out of cell range, my mother-in-law is not home and her cell phone is off, my sister-in-law is MIA, the tire is flat enough that I can't make it to Les Schwab tires, I don't have AAA anymore (dammit!)
So I call my dad in MN "I don't know what to do! I have never changed the tire on the Jeep, I don't know where the jack is, I am pretty sure I can't lift the tire and wheel once it's off... And everyone is staring at me!" (They were!)
Meanwhile my mom is telling me in the background to ask Dairy Queen if I can put my freezer items I just bought in their coolers until I get this sorted out. Um, no.
At that point three gentleman in their 60s come out of Dairy Queen and descend upon my vehicle. I hang up with my dad to sort this mess out. They find the jack, get the tire off and head for the spare. Oh wait, they say, do you have the "key" to get the spare off? "No I don't have the key, I got this Jeep used and the previous owner never turned in the key," says me. "You mean they let you drive off the lot and closed the deal with out getting you a replacement 'key'?!" "Yes, yes they did."
"We can't get the spare off then..." Damn.
They proceeded to try and wrench that lug nut with the "key" off, it won't budge. There is a screw sticking straight down into the flat tire (thanks Home Depot,)I can feel the air rushing out and I can't get anywhere. I live 20 minutes away.
So they load up the flat in their truck, tell me to stay there ("are you sure you don't want me to come?" "No, you stay here and watch the car--don't drive away!" Har-dee-har har) and drive off to Les Schwab to get the tire fixed.
15 minutes later they return with the tire as good as new, information on how to get a replacement "key" for the spare and no intention of letting me pay for the repair on my tire. So even though they just had Dairy Queen I talked them into letting me at least buy them blizzards (2 Banana Cream Pies, 1 Heath, smalls please) and off they drove ("there you go little lady.")
They wouldn't give me names or contact info, they were just happy to help. One of them said "I would just hope that someone would do the same for my wife or daughter. You never know where you could have gotten a flat and who, if anyone, would have stopped to help you. Just pay it forward." I like him.
So, though they probably will never read this blog: thank you good Samaritans! I will forever be grateful.
Jason and I are going to the dealer to get a new "key" for the spare and give them a piece of my mind. I would have been stranded had I been forced to deal with the flat myself. I had no idea I even needed a "key" to get the spare off. Had I been alone in the middle of nowhere.... I don't want to think about that.
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9 comments:
laughed out lous at the part about your mom wanting you to put your things in dairy queens freezer. that is classic. i think i'm going to do that one day just for the hell of it. you know, and just stop in now and then and pick something up for dinner after i called them in the morning and asked them to take out and marinate my steaks!
Hey Cher good to see ya!! Moms always come up with crazy solutions, don't they? I think I'll swing back by DQ tomorrow and drop off some stuff they can prep for dinner for me! :P
Oh wow, that was sooo nice of those people to do that for you!! Good people are still out there.
That is so awesome!!!!!! You could have called me! Dont forget that sweetie!You will have to let me tell you my story about an old woman I picked up once....heheheh
Yep, that could have been pretty bad. I'm glad that all worked out for you. Thank goodness for older dudes at the DQ.
Pay it forward huh? Was that an expression before the movie? I think so, but it sounds funny to me to hear someone actually use it in everyday conversation.
The world is indeed full of good folks. It is too bad there are not more of them.
fiona... come visit me and enter my contest!
Thanks, guys, for all the responses... Most of them get caught in my SPAM folder so I hadn't seen these!
Duck: I think it was an expression before the movie-have you seen the movie?
Suze: Thanks honey I will definitely remember that-I was so frazzled I couldn't think beyond my immediate family to call.
Cher: I'm on my way over!
Shife: I agree. Experiencing good deeds from strangers is so seldom sometimes. It definitely made me think daily about paying-it-forward.
Nutz: it was so very nice-i wish they had given me their names!
Yes I've seen the movie. It was ok. The "pay it forward" idea is a good one.
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