Stranded

I had great plans for today and some of them worked nicely but the rest had to be thrown out the window.  I started the day with a nice calm breakfast with the boys.  Then, I headed off to Nauvoo for a peaceful trip to the temple.  I had to evade water in the road because it was raining and with a frozen ground there was just not a lot of places for all of that rain to go.  But I made it there and had a lovely time.  I grabbed a sandwich and headed home.  Within 15 minutes of leaving Nauvoo my car told me that there was a tire pressure problem.  As I grumbled I looked to see which tire and how bad it was as I was only a few minutes out of the next city.  To my dismay the PSI on my tire was already down to 20 and still dropping.  So, I reluctantly pulled over.  I was wearing a dress and it was still sprinkling a little, so I'm sure me and my pregnant self looked great sitting on the side of the road.

You will all be proud to know that I pulled out my user manual and started walking through the steps of changing my tire.  I have to admit that I thought it ironic that I had to read several paragraphs on how proper maintenance should help you avoid ever getting a flat tire.  Well, so much for that.  I just had an oil change and they said my tires looked great.  Phooey!  It took me awhile but I found the jack and the tools I needed.  Next, I had to get the spare tire out.  These new cars sure know how to hide the spare.  By this time a nice gentleman stopped to offer his assistance which I readily accepted knowing that my skills were pretty much exhausted by this point.  He managed to get the spare tire out which was pretty impressive.  Then, he tried to loosen the lug nuts on the tire.  That was a no go.  He jumped on the wrench and gave it his all but it was not to be.  So much for a simple flat tire.  Actually, now that I think about it, I had another flat tire when I was pregnant with Jacob.  Things went just about as smoothly as this but for that one I was home which made life much simpler.

So, I got back in the car and called my insurance company to get a tow.  It is always fun explaining where you are when really you are nowhere.  They want landmarks when all I have is corn fields to look at.  In the end it is the tow truck driver who needs to know where I am, so until I am talking to him it doesn't really matter.  I finally got in touch with the tow truck company that my insurance contacted and had a rather enlightening conversation.  First, I tried to talk her into towing me to Galesburg.  I knew it was a long shot, but it was worth a try.  She shot me down and said they would only tow me to Burlington.  Yes, that is in a different state than I was in.  The joys of living near the border.  I then asked very nicely how long she thought it would be.  I thought this a logical question, but she did not.  She refused to answer the question and just said that Geico gave them 2 hours to get me and well, they would be there within that time frame.  SERIOUSLY?!?!?  But what was my choice.  In the future I think I will challenge this and ask for someone else.  But my phone life was diminishing and I wasn't in the mood.  So, I sat there and waited.  As a mother of 4 a quiet afternoon by myself sounds great, but let me just say that sitting for 2 hours in your car is just not what I had in mind.

After almost exactly 2 hours, I mean really, don't rush on my account, the tow truck showed up.  He was a very nice man and he helped me find a tire shop that could actually get me a new tire instead of just putting my spare on.  He was super nice and exactly what I needed after sitting all alone for 2 hours.  He even told me which tire place would take better care of me.  How does this nice man work for such an ornery company?  Well, I'll tell you.  Today was his last day because even he cannot work for them anymore.  Cracked me up.  I am grateful that he had one more day in him to help me out!

After waiting for 2 hours, it took 20 minutes to drive into Burlington and then 20 more to get me a all set and ready to go.  The place he took me was FABULOUS!  They checked the tire to see if they could fix it, but as I guessed it was a pretty big hole that took my tire out that quickly.  But they had a good used tire that would fit, so we went with it.  By the time I was done paying I asked how much longer it would be and was shocked and relieved to learn that they were done.  What?  Real customer service?!? I couldn't believe it!  So, after all the drama there was a happy ending and I managed to get home before dark which was a relief since there was running water on a few of the roads on the way home.

So, what did I learn?
1.  Find my own tow truck company and ask my insurance company to use them.   2 hours is an obscene time to wait.  Yes, there was a lot of bad weather today, but really?!?

2.  Always ask the tow driver for advice on where to get car help.  They know everyone!

3.  Always have a car charger for your phone.  In the end I had one, but for some reason we thought it didn't work.  We were wrong, and having my phone the whole time would have been much more enjoyable.

4.  Nice people and good companies exist, you just have to find them and never forget them!