The Vicissitudes of the Hoombah
Down
Fix-A-Flat is a damn good product. We found this out on Interstate 10 between a little town called Kent, TX and Las Cruces, NM. We were attempting to celebrate my 43rd in December since we are unable to at its actual date in Feb. The weather was windy and cold, neither of us was feeling well and now, on this long drive from Houston, a sensor was saying one tire had low pressure. This was bad since I filled all the tires with air the day before. But perhaps it was just so cold that the tires, especially that special one, were losing pressure quickly.
We stopped at a gas station in West Texas, climbed out into the blustery nastiness and used our air compressor to refill the bastard tire and check the others. Relieved that the sensor went off, we continued. Not far from that station however, the sensor came back on. So we pulled into another gas station in Kent, TX and inspected the tire which was now hissing at us, making it clear that it was not simply cold – there was a puncture.
I could barley breathe a word without decrying the miserable wind and cold. Gassing up was dreadful. Filthy, freezing restrooms were equally as dreadful. And the stress of driving was exacerbated by the high winds pushing the car around and keeping things unpredictable. Walking through water best described my level of energy for the entire drive. Tammy was just getting over a stomach bug and not quite her squirrely self. We were simply not what the Great Jollyhoombah is about. What the hell was going on?
Now, this asinine tire. We were freezing as the sun began to set in the middle of the West Texas desert. As I looked at the tire with great contempt, I remembered that I threw a can of Fix-A-Flat in the trunk left over from our trade-in on this vehicle. Tammy read the directions and I connected the can to the valve stem. In the gunk went and worked its magic within a few moments.
Charge!
Then we realized we had 200 miles to El Paso which was still an hour from Las Cruces. Our options were to call AAA and grow old together out there, put the doughnut on and stay under 50 mph for the remainder (you can do the math), or put Fix-A-Flat to the test. Perhaps it would get us to a town or maybe even El Paso. So I drove the next hundred miles or so in constant fear that the tire might blow leaving us on the side of Interstate 10, in the dark desert to be mugged and stabbed or flattened by an 18-wheeler while putting the spare on.
Terror faded into silent fatigue and eventually into hope. 200 miles to El Paso, 177, 140, 112, 84, and then as we drove through the city with hazards flashing, we decided to go all the way much like Kramer and the car salesman in the Seinfeld episode where they kept going to see how far on empty they could make it.
Up
A Discount Tire sat a top the hill at our exit. We’d been joking about how nice it would be if there was a Discount Tire near by the hotel. This one was in walking distance. As we checked into the hotel, the lobby was empty. The jolly host took pity on us and upgraded our stay to the executive suite on the top floor with a mountain view for the same rate. In the morning we walked out to the car with the Discount Tire associate and found the tire to be in perfect position for him to find the screw in the tire instantly. Since they had us in their system from previous encounters in our home town Houston, they sealed and patched tire for free.
Have you any such stories that demonstrate the juxtaposition of life’s highs and lows in your own life?
11 comments about "The Vicissitudes of the Hoombah"
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We are Tammy and CJ, and we are tickled pink you chose to spend time with us. Frolic about
a bit, poke around, and get
your snicker on. Now, get over here, so we can pet you and
feed you nuts.
“What is exceedingly nice is to have a partner that sticks with you though it all and enjoys the good luck with you after seeing through the bad.” Yes!
And, I am so glad to hear about your successful experience with Fix-a-Flat. A, because you were okay. And B, because I’ve always wondered about that stuff and now I can buy some.
Rosemary recently posted..Red Linen Shirt
Always a pleasure to see you over at the Hoombah, Rosemary! Now we must use our Target gift card to purchase more Fix-A-Flat. There may be reasons not to use but I do not know about them and I do know it saved us a whole lot of hassle. Besides, if it did not work so well, it would have made my post way too long.
You know, I’m with Rosemary. I’d always wondered about that Fix-A-Flat stuff, and now I know (and will probably pick up some next time I’m at the store!).
I can’t think of any stories like this for myself, though in a few days, I’ll probably think of one and kick myself for forgetting it. I agree that luck can change so ridiculously fast in life, but that we can’t go around expecting it to do so all of the time. If we did, I suppose it would probably take away from that wonderful feeling of relief and joy at the times luck DOES change for the good like this!
Megan Joel Peterson recently posted..Coming soon…
Thanks for popping in, Megan! And at such a busy time for you too. I may contact the Fix-A-Flat folks so they can have another nice story about their product. Heck, I’d love it if I put a product out there that made someone so happy, even just one person.
A fine point, Megan. This post may not have the drama of a classic novel, but it did feel like it at times, and these feelings, I suppose, are what make great art. In more capable hands, this story may have become the first in a TV mini-series.
Fix-A-Flat is indeed GoodStuff! I’ve used it a couple of times.
I believe the only down-side is that it makes the inside of the rim gunky (same way it stops the leak), and thus a bit of a pita for the next tire-fixer-dude, but since it *got* you to his shop, he’s pro’ly not going to complain much.
Karen J recently posted..Happy New Year!
Good morning Karen J and thanks for your comment! It is a shame about the gunk. It probably ruined the sensor that tells us when pressure is low in that tire too. What ever did we all do without those sensors? Oh yeah, we checked our air pressure once in a while. Amazing. I hope that I also made it clear how good Discount Tire is – every bit as good as the Fix-A-Flat.
This has been an unusually miserable end of December/beginning of January in Houston. We are supposed to be dining on patios every other week this time a year. I just don’t get it.
and Oh Yeah! West Texas in bad weather can be a Truly Miserable Experience.
~ “It’s ‘not supposed to’ be this cold in Texas!” says my shivering Mid-western brain. “I’d get it, if I was home, or in Iowa… but Texas? Less than 100 miles from Mexico? Bzzttt – Wrong answer!!”
Karen J recently posted..Happy New Year!
Jess and I look forward to your posts, and you delivered another great post.
We had a good chuckle throughout, and Jess laughed very loud at the line:
“So I drove the next hundred miles or so in constant fear that the tire might blow leaving us on the side of Interstate 10, in the dark desert to be mugged and stabbed or flattened by an 18-wheeler while putting the spare on.”
I am giggling now as I write this comment
We were really unsure what the lesson would be from the story, and were pleasantly surprised, as we genuinely connected with
“What is exceedingly nice is to have a partner that sticks with you though it all and enjoys the good luck with you after seeing through the bad.”
We whole heartedly agree with this sentiment and are thankful for one another in this respect.
Thanks for another amazing piece of writing.
Mark Adam Douglass (@MADouglass) recently posted..Dreaming Of Less
Great to see M.A.D. over at the Hoombah tonight. After a long, yet gratifying evening of guitar lessons, your comment was precisely what I needed. Thank you for such kind words and sharing in the sentiment that it is just great to look over and there that person is, that lovely companion there for it all, up or down.
And there may never have been one that loves to laugh as much as I do so I am always glad when I can make someone chuckle or even cackle a bit. Again, thank you.
I loved that episode of Seinfeld. Discount tire is our go to place for such things. We’ve had countless nails in our tires and they’ve fixed them for free. When we had the run in with the pothole they allowed us to purchase the warranty for all four tires and allowed us to use it on the tire that was bad. It ended up costing less than if we just fixed one tire. So they’ve got our business.
Justin recently posted..The Vacation, the Asylum and the Pothole
Justin! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! We don’t even have a TV anymore and I still miss Seinfeld. That is one hell of a deal they gave you over there. Restores just a bit of my faith in people and businesses. May Discount Tire prosper for eternity!