Why Having a Breakdown Could Be Worse

I attract car problems. I don’t know why this is my lot in life, but apparently it is. Nothing terribly serious, mind you. Flat tires, mostly. Every stray nail in the state eventually finds its way into one of my tires. Last time (before today), it was right before a mega-rainstorm. I had the extraordinarily good fortune to have a highway patrol officer drive by at exactly the right moment, and he was able to help me with the tire before anyone got totally drenched.

While the highway patrol does a remarkably thorough job keeping order on I-90 (speeders beware), you don’t always get so lucky when you have a flat. Good thing this area is so full of nice people.

My flat today found me on the exit ramp two miles from my house. I was debating trying to creep very slowly back home when a gentleman in a truck pulled over and asked if I needed any help. I explained my plan. He told me what a terrible idea it was, then offered to go back to his house to get his air pump to see if my tire could at least be pumped back up so that I wouldn’t destroy my rim attempting to get home.

I sensed nothing creepy about him (and I had a friend with me), so I happily agreed. He was back in ten minutes with his pump. The tire, as it turned out, was completely hopeless, and so he helped me change to the donut. Could I have changed that tire myself? Quite likely - I’ve observed enough tire-changings at this point to know the philosophy of how it’s done - but it would have involved a lot more time and cursing.

My friend commented later that accepting roadside help from a stranger was something she would never have considered doing in any of the places she’s lived. I was happy to report to her that the Black Hills are full of people who do this sort of thing all the time and I, tire-killer that I am, would know. Okay, we have our quota of grouches, but I think we have more than our fair share of people who are willing to give a hand, even to people they don’t know.

So thank you, Paul. You really went out of your way to help me, and I am extremely grateful for that.